GEMS Program Rescues Young Girls From Sex Trade
Exploited Youth in New York State Turn To Mentoring Program
Dec 14, 2008
GEMS: Advocates for Children Victimized By the Illegal Sex Trade
The GEMS program rescues young women exploited in the domestic sex trade in New York by placing the girls in mentoring programs. Based in Harlem, New York, Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS) is an organization founded in 1999 by Rachel Lloyd. The non-profit group provides help for young girls victimized by the commercial sex industry and is the only organization of its kind in the area.
At the end of November this year, The World Congress III against the Sexual Exploitation of Children met in New York City. During the event, GEMS Director Rachel Lloyd spoke about the difficulties faced by girls attempting to flee the abusive relationships that characterize the human trafficking industry.
"You have to take the long view. Kids have to go through the cycle a few times,” said Lloyd. "Sometimes you have to practice leaving. On average, girls are going to go through anywhere from five to seven attempts to leave – just like in a relationship of domestic violence,” she said. Lloyd happily reported some optimistic figures related to her work with GEMS. Approximately three-quarters of the exploited girls who enter the program have successfully remained free of "the life."
Founder Rachel Lloyd
Lloyd has some expertise in this area. "The life" is the colloquial term that prostitutes use to describe the illegal sex trade. Once a teenage high school dropout who stayed home to care for her alcoholic mother, Rachel Lloyd herself suffered for years at the hands of an abusive pimp, in the UK, before finally breaking free and starting a new life in the United States. Using the tools she gained as a reformed young prostitute, Lloyd has not missed the opportunity to help start new lives for other struggling young women.
GEMS provides teen girls with vital, practical support, including assistance with procuring original documents such as birth certificates and social security cards, which are kept on-site in the GEMS office should the girls need access to them in the future. The organization also provides counseling, job training, shelter, and one-on-one female support for young girls.
Helping the Victims
GEMS also provides valuable information not just to victims, but to concerned friends and family members who require help in located missing and exploited children. The GEMS website prominently posts links to other organizations that help get troubled youth off of the streets, out of the hands of abusers, and into stable, educational environments.
Although illegal prostitution is still heavily criminalized in New York State and across the United States, many of those involved in the industry are victimized children. The GEMS website cites a recent study estimating that nearly 90% of prostituted youth were victims of sexual abuse sometime prior to their involvement in the sex industry.
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