Look At Me 2024 – Chicago, IL

This Domestic Violence Awareness Month, join survivors inside of Logan Correctional Center to reclaim their narratives through performance and storytelling at the 3rd Annual “Look at Me” program.

The event, which has been generously sponsored by Barnes & Thornburg LLP, and a grant from the Michael Reese Health Trust, will feature a film of performances entirely written and directed by incarcerated survivors, a live panel among the survivors and an art contest. It will be offered virtually on Zoom, as well as in person at the WJI Reclamation Center.

In the landmark report, Redefining the Narrative, the WJI defines Relationship safety as “a human right, yet violations of that birthright are widespread and often pave women’s pathways into the criminal legal system. System-impacted women have endured relationship violations in their interpersonal relationships, communities, and at the hands of the state. In fact, one of the most common experiences that women in the criminal justice system share is a history of victimization, including childhood trauma and gender-based violence. Indeed, many justice-involved women have experienced multi-abuse trauma— the experience of navigating multiple layers of trauma and oppression.” (2021, Redefining the Narrative, Women’s Justice Institute)

Despite the fact that an estimated 98% of women incarcerated in Illinois have histories of sexual assault, domestic violence and other forms of abuse, false narratives continue to overlook these issues and criminalize survivors, particular among communities of color, rather than provide support and real justice.

Through the WJI’s Criminalized Survivors Initiative, efforts are made to build public awareness of the harmful ways women’s overlooked pathways has had on women’s mass incarceration, identify solutions and provide impacted women with a platform to confront false narratives about their incarceration and inspire transformative change. Most importantly, the goal of the work is the end the mass incarceration women.

The Look at Me program is entirely written and directly by incarcerated survivors, who need and deserve for their voices to be heard. Through a partnership with the IDOC Women’s Division, the program was approved to be the first in state history to feature a film of women’s performances and a live panel of incarcerated survivors to the public. The words, stories, and wisdom of the survivors has inspired public education and policy change, and also provides an opportunity to heal for what has been a lifetime of trauma for many of those leading the program.

For more information or to donate to this work, contact the Women’s Justice Institute (WJI) at contact@womensjustieinstitute.org.