Driving Force Radio: Human Trafficking

Our guest this week is Rachel Lloyd; an anti-human trafficking advocate and founder and Executive Director of the New York-based Girls Educational and Mentoring Services. During her teens, Rachel ended up a victim of commercial sexual exploitation. With time, through incredible resilience, and with the help of a local church community, she finally broke free of her pimp and her past and devoted herself to helping other young girls escape \"the life.\"

Rachel Lloyd

In 1998, with only a computer and $30, 23-year-old Rachel Lloyd, a survivor of commercial sexual exploitation established GEMS: Girls Educational and Mentoring Services to support girls and young women victimized by the commercial sex industry in the U.S.

Since its inception as a one-woman outreach program in 1998, GEMS has grown steadily, building its services and programs and garnering increased visibility and recognition under Lloyd\'s leadership. Now the nation\'s largest organization offering direct services to girls and young women, ages 12-24, who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking, GEMS empowers survivors to escape the sex industry and develop to their full potential.

Lloyd is a nationally recognized expert on the issue of commercial sexual exploitation

GEMS Website