At the young age of 14, Daisy was assaulted by her older brother’s friend in Maryville, MO. The perpetrator and his friends coerced her to drink to the point of complete black out, and after the assault left her outside her house in below freezing temperatures. She was then bullied at school, on social media and her house was burned down. Considerable evidence was brought against the perpetrators, but because of suspected corruption, the charges were dropped. The group Anonymous then rallied on her behalf with #JusticeforDaisy and Daisy sparked a national conversation about sexual assault and continues that conversation even after her passing. RIP Cat.
Our Mission
SafeBAE is the only survivor-founded, youth-led organization working to end sexual violence among middle and high school students nationwide. We equip young people with the tools to prevent harm, support their peers, and drive generational culture change — strengthening mental health, uplifting youth leadership, and creating safer school communities.
Our Story
At SafeBAE, we believe rape culture and sexual assault are among the most dangerous and life-altering issues facing young people today, compounded by a growing and interconnected youth mental health crisis. Despite alarming rates of sexual violence among youth — higher than any other age group — our schools continue to offer little in the way of education or tools to prevent it.
We founded SafeBAE in 2015 because we knew that had to change. Daisy, Ella, and Jada — teen survivors of sexual assault — came together with Daisy’s brother, Charlie, and our Executive Director, Shael, to build something we never had: a way to stop what happened to us from happening to anyone else. The “BAE” in SafeBAE stands for Before Anyone Else — because we know prevention has to start early.
The idea for SafeBAE began during the filming of the Peabody Award-winning Netflix documentary Audrie & Daisy. As we shared our stories, one devastating truth became clear: none of us had ever received meaningful education about consent, Title IX, or how to recognize and prevent sexual violence. That knowledge gap was the common thread in our experiences, and it’s exactly what we set out to change.
We knew the work couldn’t wait until college. It had to begin earlier, in middle and high school, when beliefs about intimacy, boundaries, and safety are just beginning to form. SafeBAE exists to fill that gap: to empower young people before harm happens, and when it does, to ensure they have access to survivor-centered care, community, and lasting support.
Co-Founders
Daisy Coleman
Co-Founder
Meet Cat
Jada Smith
Co-Founder
Meet Jada
Jada Smith is the outspoken survivor who sparked the #JusticeforJada campaign. At 16 years old, Jada was drugged and assaulted at a party. After assaulting her, the perpetrators posted pictures online of her unconscious, drugged body with the hashtag #jadapose that began trending in her community with reenactment pictures of her assault. After Jada’s rape went viral she fought back, appearing on major news outlets, which ignited support from people all over the globe including celebrities such as Willow Smith and Gabrielle Union. A movement was born to support Jada and call for the prosecution of her perpetrator with #JusticeforJada pictures. Jada is still seeking justice and continues to advocate for sexual assault and cyberbullying prevention.
Ella Fairon
Co-Founder
Meet Ella
After moving to a small town in Texas at the age of 14, Ella was beaten, drugged and raped by a peer. For weeks after, Ella was bullied and harassed by the perpetrator and his friends and was shamed for the assault committed against her. Ella’s family eventually relocated back to California for her safety. Throughout her early healing, she created her own school club, Buttervly, which evolved into a local Southern California organization. She has gone on to graduate from Corona Del Mar High school and earn her degree from the Los Angeles Film School. With a newly minted production company, Lancelot Media Inc, Ella has developed and produced much of SafeBAE’s digital and social media content, recruiting a team of young, female lead, trauma informed collective of film makers.
Charlie Coleman
Co-Founder
Meet Charlie
Charlie Coleman is a recent graduate of Baker University with a Bachelors in exercise science and 4 year varsity baseball letterman. His impactful contribution to the acclaimed film Audrie & Daisy shows his incredible voice as both a brother of a survivor, an ally, a coach and mentor to young athletes. His previous experience speaking at schools has led him to want to reach as many young athletes as possible.
Executive Director
Shael Norris has dedicated her career to ending sexual violence. She is passionate about empowering young people to be change agents in preventing violence. She was a founding staffer of V-Day, overseeing the College and Community Campaigns for 19 years. After decades of work focused on college sexual assault, she sought a grant to establish SafeBAE to focus specifically on younger students. Her three children and dedication to making schools a safer place was the driving force which led to the creation SafeBAE.
How We Began
These survivors and their families came together during the filming of the Netflix documentary “Audrie & Daisy” to help prevent what happened to them from happening to anyone else. Daisy Coleman, Ella Fairon, Jada Smith & Charlie Coleman have bravely spoken out about their sexual assaults, the public sharing of the assaults over social media, the community backlash they received, their schools’ mishandling of their ongoing harassment and how they have fought for necessary change.
SafeBAE is a 501c3 Not-for-Profit Organization
