Girls Like Us: Fighting For a World Where Girls Are Not For Sale

The book’s author, Rachel Lloyd, executive director of the aid organization Girls Education and Mentoring Services (GEMS), describes her meeting with a 14-year-old girl named Danielle who has been trafficked in the commercial sex industry by her 29-year old pimp, whom Danielle refers to as her boyfriend. Though Lloyd is a veteran in sex trafficking relief and founded her own organization on the issue, her meeting with Danielle profoundly affects her. Lloyd cites the statistic that the average age range for children who are trafficked is 12 to 14. However, Danielle’s entrance into sexual exploitation at the age of 11 and the fact that her two older sisters are also “in the life”—a euphemism for women who are exploited via the sex trafficking industry—shocks and disheartens Lloyd.

Lloyd wonders at how much progress has been made on the issue of sex trafficking. The month before Lloyd’s interaction with Danielle, the New York State Senate refused to pass a bill that would address sex trafficking. However, the following day Lloyd realizes that some small changes have been made, both through her organization and within society at large. She notes that when she got the call to interview Danielle, the foster care agency staff called her an “exploited child” instead of a “prostitute.