Rachel Lloyd

Rachel Lloyd
Born	1975 Stalbridge, Dorset, England
Occupation	Executive Director
Known for	Founder of GEMS Girls; Anti-human trafficking activist

Rachel Lloyd, born 1975 in Stalbridge, Dorset, England is a former prostitute turned activist in the fight against domestic human sex trafficking, in particular, the commercialized sexual exploitation of children. Today, Lloyd is the Founder and Executive Director of the Girls Education and Mentoring Service (GEMS), the only organization in the state of New York designed to serve domestically trafficked and commercially exploited girls.

Childhood and early adulthood

Raised in Stalbridge, young Rachel Lloyd was often found fighting for the underdog, which in many cases was herself. Driven by a strong sense of moral justice, young Lloyd navigated the world as a mixed race child of a single mother in England. While the family struggled financially, Lloyd was able to attend private school on a scholarship to Portsmouth High School for Girls. During her time at private school she was faced with strong racial prejudices and felt like an outcast, battling both the administration and her peers for the kind of treatment that she knew she deserved.

In spite of having received a scholarship to Portsmouth, Lloyd's formal education would be short lived. Having been raised by an alcoholic mother, Lloyd dropped out at the age of 13 to work in factories and restaurants in order to support her family. She quickly began living the life of a wild child, shoplifting, nude modeling, drinking and taking drugs. She became involved in prostitution, finding it to be an easier way to make money. By the time she was 18 years old, she had been assaulted, beaten, and raped numerous times. In an effort to escape the daily trauma of life on the streets, she attempted suicide three times.

Lloyd sought escape in drugs and alcohol. However, when those were not enough, she found the strength to leave London. At the age of 17 years, Lloyd moved to Germany in an attempt to leave the past behind and start over. However, she soon ended up back on the streets, a victim of sex trafficking in Munich and Mainz. When her crack-addicted pimp tried to kill her, she escaped and found shelter in a local church. Salvation came in the form of a church on a United States Air Force base and a military family which employed her as a nanny. Through their support, she found a home away from the streets.

In 1997, Lloyd immigrated to the United States, settling in the state of New York. Before long, she began working with adult women in the local correctional facilities and on the streets. During this time, Lloyd observed the overwhelming need for community services for young women who were either at risk of being sexually exploited or were currently being trafficked. She recognized the severe emotional and practical needs of women and young girls who were being ignored by traditional government-based social service agencies. It became clear that specialized services were essential for this disenfranchised population.

Through her work with young women in the prison system, Lloyd became passionate about helping girls and young women fight for their rights. The lack of available and/or effective support services was apparent throughout the state. She made a vow to not only change her own life, but the lives of others, as well.

In an effort to change her life, Lloyd decided to go back to school. Since she left school during her childhood, she began studying in preparation to take her General Educational Development (or GED) test. Passing successfully certified that her academic skills and abilities were equivalent to receiving an American education at the high school level. With this certification, she continued on to college, earning a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Marymount Manhattan College and her Masters in Applied Urban Anthropology from the City College of New York.

Public service and professional advocacy

In 1999, Lloyd established a New York-based, nonprofit organization to support girls and young women victimized by the commercial sex industry in the United States. GEMS: Girls Educational and Mentoring Services was birthed from Lloyd's own experiences of sexual exploitation as a teenager, in addition to her encounters with the ineffective support services of the political and social systems which had been designed to protect the many victims of violence and abuse.

Lloyd has a profound personal understanding of her work and knows all too well the hidden, emotional scars that exploitation can leave on children and youth. "There have been experiences I would rather not have had and pain I wish I hadn't felt - but every experience, every tear, every hardship has equipped me for the work I do now," Lloyd says. "I get such deep satisfaction from knowing I'm fulfilling my purpose, that my life is counting for something. It puts all the past hurts into perspective."

GEMS: Girls Educational and Mentoring Services

Based in Harlem, New York City, GEMS began life as a Sunday afternoon, kitchen table project. Assets included a computer, 30 dollars, and the passion and heart of one woman. Today, the organization has grown to become one of the largest providers of services to young women and girls, ages 12 – 21, who have chosen to leave the sex industry and/or escaped forced domestic sex trafficking situations. The organization serves about 200 girls per year and provides a recovery center with nine beds.

Prevention and outreach programs

• street outreach and intervention
• legal advocacy in family and criminal courts
• trauma based therapy and clinical support
• transitional housing through an Independent Living Housing Program

Holistic case management services

• mental health assessment and counseling
• medical health care and support
• acquiring identification or benefits
• assistance navigating government support services
• pursuit of educational opportunities
• assessment of employment skills and abilities
• career counseling and employment development

Educational mentoring

The Educational Initiatives Program provides incentives for members who take the next step in their education, including registering for a GED, high school, college or vocational program, and completing semesters and graduating. GEMS offers on-site tutoring and college bound clinics to support its members.

Youth development

The Youth Development Program addresses the developmental, social, and emotional needs of young women through strength-based programming. These programs include:

• Recreational, educational, and therapeutic groups including health education, poetry, art therapy, photography, cooking, creative writing, grief and loss therapy and drama to bring to life and enhance the creative expression and sense of community existing in each young women.

• The Youth Employment Program/Youth Fellowship Program provides structured training and employment for members.

• The Youth Leadership Program trains young women on the issue of sexual exploitation, domestic violence and youth incarceration and equips them with public speaking, peer counseling, organizing and advocacy skills. Youth Leaders are afforded multiple opportunities to develop their skills through outreach, public speaking events, advocacy, and media work.

Media coverage and public appearances

In addition to providing direct services and support, the organization works to increase awareness of the commercial sexual exploitation of children. Lloyd, her staff, and their many volunteers advocate at the local, state, and national level to promote policies that support young women who have been commercially sexually exploited and domestically trafficked.

Lloyd has spoken by invitation at the United Nations, New York University, Columbia University, Wheelock College, CUNY Honors College, Washburn University, the Brooklyn Museum, the Library of Congress and other top institutions; at film festivals including the Miami International Film Festival, Jackson Hole Film Festival, and True/False Film Festival; and at international and national conferences including the WMCA National Conference 2009, First International Summit of Sexually Exploited Youth in Victoria, BC, the International Young People's Participation Project in the Philippines, the National Children's Advocacy Center Conference, Project Safe Childhood Conference, the National Conference on Juvenile Justice and many more.

Lloyd's passion and achievements have made her a frequent focus of national and international news coverage, with profiles and interviews on CNN Anderson Cooper 360°, ABC News, NBC News, NPR, National Geographic Channel, Access Hollywood, and in the New York Times, New York Post, Washington Post, Variety, Essence Magazine, Glamour Magazine, New York Magazine, Village Voice, Marie Claire, and other leading outlets. Lloyd was named one of the "50 Women Who Change the World" by Ms. Magazine, one of the "100 Women Who Shape New York" by the New York Daily News, "New Yorker of the Week" by NY1, and a "Notable New Yorker" by CBS-TV.

Very Young Girls

Very Young Girls (2007 Showtime) is documentary film that presents the work of the Girls Education and Mentoring Services (GEMS). Directed by David Schisgall and Nina Alvarez, the film is an expose of human trafficking that follows thirteen and fourteen year old American girls as they are seduced, abused, and sold on New York’s streets by pimps; while being treated as adult criminals by police.

The film follows the barely-adolescent girls in real time, using vérité and intimate interviews with them as they are first lured on to the streets and the dire events which follow. The film also uses startling footage shot by the brazen pimps themselves giving a rare glimpse into how the cycle of street life begins for many women.

The film was an official selection in the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival, the 2008 Edinburgh Film Festival, the 2008 Independent Film Boston, the 2008 True/False Film Festival, the 2008 Miami International Film Festival, the 2008 Jerusalem Film Festival, the 2008 Jackson Hole Film Festival and the 2008 Indie Spirit Film Festival.

Accomplishments

In 2008, Lloyd played a key role in the successful passage of New York State's groundbreaking Safe Harbor Act for Sexually Exploited Youth, which was the first law in the country to end the prosecution of child victims of sex trafficking. GEMS is the co-founder of the New York City Task Force Against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Youth and a founding member of the United States Campaign to Stop the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children.

Her passion and advocacy in addressing human sex trafficking and the commercialized sexual exploitation of children is the subject of the critically acclaimed Showtime documentary Very Young Girls, the upcoming memoir Acceptable Victims (HarperCollins), and a feature film currently in development at Participant Productions and Lifetime Networks.

Honors and awards

In 2006, Lloyd was the recipient of the Reebok Human Rights Foundation. Additionally, she has been honored with the Community Service Award from the New York State Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators, the Frederick Douglass Award from the North Star Fund, the Susan B. Anthony Award from the National Organization for Women, the Community Service Award from Soroptimist International NY, and the Social Entrepreneurship Award from the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.

External links

• Girls Educational and Mentoring Services Website