Rachel Lloyd
Encyclopedia
Rachel Lloyd is an anti-human trafficking advocate and founder and Executive Director of the New York-based Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS).
Lloyd immigrated to the United States in 1997, to work with incarcerated adult women, and later began working to end domestic
human sex trafficking
, in particular, the commercial sexual exploitation of children
(CSEC) and young women taking place within the United States. She began working with adult women who were coming out of prostitution, as well as women incarcerated
at Rikers Island
and county correctional facilities
. She also reached out to women working the streets on Hunts Point in the Bronx. Since her early days in New York, Lloyd has become a leading advocate, working on behalf of girls and young women victimized by commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking.
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
(2004), "New Yorker of the Week" by New York One
(May 12, 2010), and a "Notable New Yorker" by WCBS-TV
(September 4, 2006). She has also spoken before local, state, and federal legislative bodies
, as well as the United Nations (October 22, 2009) and international audiences in the Philippines and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
on a scholarship
to Portsmouth High School for Girls, despite her family’s financial struggles. During her time at private school she was faced with strong racial prejudices
, battling both the school administration
and her peers
for the kind of treatment that she received.
Lloyd's mother drank heavily, and her stepfather became abusive. She left school at the age of 13 to support herself, by means which included shoplifting
and nude modeling. She began nude modeling at 14 years and gradually progressed to stripping
and prostitution by the time she had turned 18. She was recruited by a pimp and began working as a prostitute on the streets. In 1994, after two years working as a prostitute, she left the sex industry.
In 2003, Lloyd was interviewed in Marie Claire magazine. "I was 17 when I turned my first trick
, compared with the 12-year-olds I meet today." Abused at three and raped at 13, Rachel Lloyd became a prostitute, surviving rape on the streets, murder plots by her pimp, and several suicide attempts. When she was 17 years old, she moved to Germany, in an effort to change her life, only to end up back on the streets. She was violently beaten by her pimp before her 18th birthday. Her body still bears the scars of traumatic encounters with her pimps and boyfriends, including a deep scar from a knife wound on her right hand, which required seventeen stitches.
In 1994, Rachel was able to escape her situation. She started on the road to recovery through the support of a military family and a church on a US Air Force base in Germany. In 1997, she immigrated to the United States to begin working with adult women in the commercial sex industry. Her work encompassed advocating for working women on the streets and in the local correctional facilities. 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.
After arriving in New York, Lloyd returned to school and 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 of Arts
degree in Psychology
from Marymount Manhattan College
and her Masters
in Applied
Urban Anthropology
from the City College of New York
.
Despite some painful memories, Lloyd states that she does not regret her life. "Obviously 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," she 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. My pain has become my passion and I find true joy in my work, in my life, and in seeing 'my girls' fulfill their purpose too."
Based in Harlem, New York City, GEMS started off as a kitchen table project in 1998. The assets of this newly formed organization included a borrowed computer and 30 dollars. Today, the organization has grown to become one of the largest providers of services to young women and girls, ages 12–21, who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking. The organization serves about 275 girls per year, while providing direct services for over 1,000 girls and young women a year.
In cities across the United States, when young girls under the age of 18 are arrested for prostitution or other illegal activities of a sexual nature, they are often charged and sentenced to probation or time in jail. They enter the criminal justice system with the legal presumption that they are juvenile delinquents. While the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, defines human sex trafficking as a commercial sex act induced by force, fraud or coercion, or involving a minor, many states continue to treat victims of child sexual exploitation as criminals. State laws have been enacted that actually support prosecuting sexually exploited youth, rather than offering them protection and assistance as victims of a horrible crime. When Lloyd began working with victims, she discovered that New York, as well as many other states, relied on legislation contradicting the federal statute.
Although comprehensive research to document the number of children engaged in prostitution in the United States is lacking, the Department of Justice, estimates about 293,000 American youth are currently "at risk" of becoming victims of commercial sexual exploitation. Sgt. Byron Fassett of the Dallas Police Child Exploitation Squad, points out an obvious irony of this situation. "If a 45-year-old man had sex with a 14-year-old girl and no money changed hands, she was likely to get counseling and he was likely to get jail time for statutory rape. If the same man left $80 on the table after having sex with her, she would probably be locked up for prostitution and he would probably go home with a fine as a john."
Prosecuting children does not help eradicate child abuse. Lloyd works to change these misconceptions that view children as criminals, speaking out against these laws and sentences in the United States. She played a key role in lobbying New York legislators to pass the 2008 Safe Harbor for Exploited Youth Act. The bill recognizing these children as victims, rather than criminals, and provides them with necessary social services. "It benefits girls who are not legally old enough to consent to sex, who’d be protected under statutory rape
laws if money hadn't changed hands," she says.
In February 2010, Lloyd presented testimony before the United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law hearing entitled "In Our Own Backyard: Child Prostitution and Sex Trafficking in the United States". In his opening statements, Senator Dick Durbin, chairman of the subcommittee, recognized Lloyd's leadership in addressing the sexual exploitation of children and advocating for change in the New York State criminal justice system. In referring to the Safe Harbor for Exploited Youth Act, in which Lloyd played an important role, Durbin stated that "Congress should build on New York's fine work and make clear that children who are subjected to sex trafficking should not be treated like criminals."
(2007 Swinging T Productions) is documentary film that presents the work of the Girls Educational and Mentoring Services. Directed by David Schisgall, the film is an exposé of human trafficking that follows 13- and 14-year-old American girls as they are coerced and exploited on New York’s streets by pimps; while being treated as adult criminals by police.
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. The film has been broadcast and distributed by Showtime Networks.
Lloyd co-founded the New York City Task Force Against the Sexual Exploitation of Children; she organized and hosted both the first United States Summit of Sexually Exploited Youth (2003) and the first congressional briefing on sexual exploitation (2004).
In 2008, as the Executive Director of GEMS, Lloyd was a leading advocate, playing a key role in the successful passage of New York State's groundbreaking Safe Harbor for Exploited Children Act, making New York the first state in the nation to protect, rather than prosecute sexually exploited children. She is also a founding member of the United States Campaign to Stop the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children.
In 2010, Lloyd was named an Ashoka Fellow
and a Prime Mover Fellow. She has been honored with the Reebok International Human Rights Award
(2006), and the Social Entrepreneurship Award from the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research (2008).
Lloyd 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.
Lloyd immigrated to the United States in 1997, to work with incarcerated adult women, and later began working to end domestic
Domestic policy
Domestic policy, also known as public policy, presents decisions, laws, and programs made by the government which are directly related to all issues and activity within the country....
human sex trafficking
Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
, in particular, the commercial sexual exploitation of children
Commercial sexual exploitation of children
Commercial sexual exploitation of children constitutes a form of coercion and violence against children and amounts to forced labour and a contemporary form of slavery....
(CSEC) and young women taking place within the United States. She began working with adult women who were coming out of prostitution, as well as women incarcerated
Incarceration
Incarceration is the detention of a person in prison, typically as punishment for a crime .People are most commonly incarcerated upon suspicion or conviction of committing a crime, and different jurisdictions have differing laws governing the function of incarceration within a larger system of...
at Rikers Island
Rikers Island
Rikers Island is New York City's main jail complex, as well as the name of the island on which it sits, in the East River between Queens and the mainland Bronx, adjacent to the runways of LaGuardia Airport. The island itself is part of the borough of the Bronx, though it is included as part of...
and county correctional facilities
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
. She also reached out to women working the streets on Hunts Point in the Bronx. Since her early days in New York, Lloyd has become a leading advocate, working on behalf of girls and young women victimized by commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking.
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 York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
(2004), "New Yorker of the Week" by New York One
NY1
NY1, New York One, is a 24-hour cable-news television channel focusing on the five boroughs of New York City. In addition to news and weather forecasts, the channel also features human-interest segments such as the "New Yorker of the Week" and the "Scholar Athlete of the Week", and specialty...
(May 12, 2010), and a "Notable New Yorker" by WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV, channel 2, is the flagship station of the CBS television network, located in New York City. The station's studios are located within the CBS Broadcast Center and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building, both in Midtown Manhattan....
(September 4, 2006). She has also spoken before local, state, and federal legislative bodies
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
, as well as the United Nations (October 22, 2009) and international audiences in the Philippines and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
Childhood and early adulthood
Raised in Stalbridge by her single mother, young Rachel Lloyd attended private schoolPrivate school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
on a scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
to Portsmouth High School for Girls, despite her family’s financial struggles. During her time at private school she was faced with strong racial prejudices
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, battling both the school administration
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
and her peers
Peer group
A peer group is a social group consisting of humans. Peer groups are an informal primary group of people who share a similar or equal status and who are usually of roughly the same age, tended to travel around and interact within the social aggregate Members of a particular peer group often have...
for the kind of treatment that she received.
Lloyd's mother drank heavily, and her stepfather became abusive. She left school at the age of 13 to support herself, by means which included shoplifting
Shoplifting
Shoplifting is theft of goods from a retail establishment. It is one of the most common property crimes dealt with by police and courts....
and nude modeling. She began nude modeling at 14 years and gradually progressed to stripping
Striptease
A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner...
and prostitution by the time she had turned 18. She was recruited by a pimp and began working as a prostitute on the streets. In 1994, after two years working as a prostitute, she left the sex industry.
In 2003, Lloyd was interviewed in Marie Claire magazine. "I was 17 when I turned my first trick
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
, compared with the 12-year-olds I meet today." Abused at three and raped at 13, Rachel Lloyd became a prostitute, surviving rape on the streets, murder plots by her pimp, and several suicide attempts. When she was 17 years old, she moved to Germany, in an effort to change her life, only to end up back on the streets. She was violently beaten by her pimp before her 18th birthday. Her body still bears the scars of traumatic encounters with her pimps and boyfriends, including a deep scar from a knife wound on her right hand, which required seventeen stitches.
After arriving in New York, Lloyd returned to school and 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 of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
from Marymount Manhattan College
Marymount Manhattan College
Marymount Manhattan College is an urban, coeducational, independent, private, liberal arts college located in Manhattan, New York City, New York with a focus in performing arts. The mission of the College is to educate a socially and economically diverse student body by fostering intellectual...
and her Masters
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in Applied
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
Urban Anthropology
Urban Anthropology
Urban Anthropology and Studies of Cultural Systems and World Economic Development is a journal devoted to studies in urban anthropology and related areas. From 1972-1985 it was issued under the name Urban Anthropology....
from the City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
.
Despite some painful memories, Lloyd states that she does not regret her life. "Obviously 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," she 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. My pain has become my passion and I find true joy in my work, in my life, and in seeing 'my girls' fulfill their purpose too."
Public service and professional advocacy
In December 2000, Lloyd started a 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.Based in Harlem, New York City, GEMS started off as a kitchen table project in 1998. The assets of this newly formed organization included a borrowed computer and 30 dollars. Today, the organization has grown to become one of the largest providers of services to young women and girls, ages 12–21, who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking. The organization serves about 275 girls per year, while providing direct services for over 1,000 girls and young women a year.
Advocating for legislative change
Although comprehensive research to document the number of children engaged in prostitution in the United States is lacking, the Department of Justice, estimates about 293,000 American youth are currently "at risk" of becoming victims of commercial sexual exploitation. Sgt. Byron Fassett of the Dallas Police Child Exploitation Squad, points out an obvious irony of this situation. "If a 45-year-old man had sex with a 14-year-old girl and no money changed hands, she was likely to get counseling and he was likely to get jail time for statutory rape. If the same man left $80 on the table after having sex with her, she would probably be locked up for prostitution and he would probably go home with a fine as a john."
Statutory rape
The phrase statutory rape is a term used in some legal jurisdictions to describe sexual activities where one participant is below the age required to legally consent to the behavior...
laws if money hadn't changed hands," she says.
In February 2010, Lloyd presented testimony before the United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law hearing entitled "In Our Own Backyard: Child Prostitution and Sex Trafficking in the United States". In his opening statements, Senator Dick Durbin, chairman of the subcommittee, recognized Lloyd's leadership in addressing the sexual exploitation of children and advocating for change in the New York State criminal justice system. In referring to the Safe Harbor for Exploited Youth Act, in which Lloyd played an important role, Durbin stated that "Congress should build on New York's fine work and make clear that children who are subjected to sex trafficking should not be treated like criminals."
Media coverage and public appearances
In addition to providing direct services and support, the Girls Educational and Mentoring Services works to increase awareness of the commercial sexual exploitation of children. Lloyd, her staff, and the young women served by GEMS advocate at the local, state, and national level to promote policies that support young women who have been commercially sexually exploited and domestically trafficked.Print and broadcast media
|
National Geographic Channel National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual... NBC News NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is... New York (magazine) New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New... New York Post The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions... Variety (magazine) Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the... |
Public appearances
|
Philippines The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam... Miami International Film Festival The Miami International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Miami, Florida in the late winter. The film festival is sponsored by the Miami Film Society, which has been around since 1983.... Project Safe Childhood Project Safe Childhood is a Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 that aims to combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children... Conference True/False Film Festival The True/False Film Festival is an annual documentary film festival that takes place in Columbia, Missouri. The festival usually happens on a weekend toward the end of February or the beginning of March, with films being shown from Thursday night to Sunday night... |
Very Young Girls
Very Young GirlsVery Young Girls
Very Young Girls , directed by David Schisgall and Nina Alvarez, is a documentary and exposé of human trafficking that follows 13- and 14-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...
(2007 Swinging T Productions) is documentary film that presents the work of the Girls Educational and Mentoring Services. Directed by David Schisgall, the film is an exposé of human trafficking that follows 13- and 14-year-old American girls as they are coerced and exploited on New York’s streets by pimps; while being treated as adult criminals by police.
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. The film has been broadcast and distributed by Showtime Networks.
Honors and awards
Lloyd began her career as a leader among youth survivors of commercialized sexual exploitation. In March 1998, she helped draft a declaration and agenda for action at the first International Summit of Sexually Exploited Youth, presented by the International Centre to Combat Exploitation of Children, held in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. She presented the declaration at the United Nations and saw it ratified by 120 countries.Lloyd co-founded the New York City Task Force Against the Sexual Exploitation of Children; she organized and hosted both the first United States Summit of Sexually Exploited Youth (2003) and the first congressional briefing on sexual exploitation (2004).
In 2008, as the Executive Director of GEMS, Lloyd was a leading advocate, playing a key role in the successful passage of New York State's groundbreaking Safe Harbor for Exploited Children Act, making New York the first state in the nation to protect, rather than prosecute sexually exploited children. She is also a founding member of the United States Campaign to Stop the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children.
In 2010, Lloyd was named an Ashoka Fellow
Ashoka: Innovators for the Public
Ashoka: Innovators for the Public is a nonprofit organization based in Arlington, VA, supporting the field of social entrepreneurship. Ashoka was founded by Bill Drayton in 1981 to identify and support leading social entrepreneurs through a Social Venture Capital approach with the goal of...
and a Prime Mover Fellow. She has been honored with the Reebok International Human Rights Award
Reebok Human Rights Award
The Reebok Human Rights Award honours activists under the age of 30 who fight for human rights through non-violent means. Each year, the award is given to four or five individuals. Each receives a grant of US$50,000 that must be used to support their human rights work. The awards are underwritten...
(2006), and the Social Entrepreneurship Award from the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research (2008).
Lloyd 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
National Organization for Women
The National Organization for Women is the largest feminist organization in the United States. It was founded in 1966 and has a membership of 500,000 contributing members. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S...
, the Community Service Award from Soroptimist
Soroptimist
Founded in 1921, Soroptimist International is a world-wide volunteer service organization for business and professional women who work to improve the lives of women and girls, in local communities and throughout the world...
International NY, and the Social Entrepreneurship Award from the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.
Further reading
- International Centre to Combat Exploitation of Children Declaration and Agenda for Action of Sexually Exploited Children & Youth
External links
- www.gems-girls.org GEMS Official Website