Quote from Gem's Website:
“Most people don’t understand why we stay with a pimp. Many of us have been exploited by our peers, society and often by the people that we trust. When we’re the most vulnerable pimps attack, promising us stability, a family life, a future. They reel us in. He becomes our father, and our boyfriend, until we see what he really wants. Then he intimidates us and reminds us constantly about the consequences if we leave. Most tell us that they’ll find and kill us, no matter where we go. We’re afraid of being afraid. Resources are limited and many of us do not see a way out.” - Anon
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I had never heard of this organization until last night. I happened to be watching Launch My Line (don't judge me, LOL) and my fiance came in and said that he found something interesting on TV. So he flipped to this documentary called, Very Young Girls. The young ladies involved had been sexually exploited by pimps and trying to leave the life and pursue better things. Although most see them as simply prostitutes, the truth remains that these girls (13 and up) are abused, afraid, and abandoned in this lifestyle.
The Executive Director & Founder, Rachel Lloyd, was a part of the documentary as well. She was there mentoring and encouraging these young women to stay out of trouble and pursue bigger and better things. The best thing about her was that she never tried to FORCE anyone to stay or change their life. She provided support and open arms for anyone that wanted help or wanted to return to the center.
Honestly, the part of the movie that sent chills down my spine was when Rachel won an award
and gave her acceptance speech. She said, (in my own words) that basically the Academy Awards gave an award for a song called It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp and if it's hard out here for a pimp...think about how hard it is for a 13 year old girl being sexually exploited, beaten up, threatened constantly..etc. I mean, it really hit me. The documentary was well worth the watch and if you haven't seen it then I highly recommend seeing it.
If you want to know more about this organization you can visit the site here----> GEMS.
Also, Monday, January 11, 2010 is HUMAN TRAFFICKING AWARENESS DAY.
If you are interested in helping, take the time to research programs in your community and volunteer your time. You can find more about the awareness event on Facebook Events.
GEMS also have a Twitter account as well...you can follow here.
2 comments:
Yes, I watched this last night also and I was really shocked by how common it is. I applaud Rachel for her work and I loved her realness. She truly is passionate about what she does and completely wanted the girls to make the decision to change there lives. When Ebony and a few others kept going back she proved that she was there for them no matter what. Truly inspiring "gem" of a person who came out of a similar situation. I loved when she threw that in there considering America is infatuated with pimping and nobody cares about the females being exploited/used.
Yes, this has definitely put me in a place where I see what pimping really is. It's hard for me to understand why someone would choose to prostitute but to be put in the positions these girls were in...I have a better understanding.
I wish there were more documentaries out there. I always love to see the truth and not what media makes us believe.
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