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Girls Like Us: Fighting for a World Where Girls Are Not for Sale
by
During her teens, Rachel Lloyd 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."
In "Girls Like Us," Lloyd reveals the dark world of commercial sex trafficking in cinem ...more
In "Girls Like Us," Lloyd reveals the dark world of commercial sex trafficking in cinem ...more
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Paperback, 288 pages
Published
February 28th 2012
by Harper Perennial
(first published April 1st 2011)
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Community Reviews
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Start your review of Girls Like Us: Fighting for a World Where Girls Are Not for Sale

Oct 11, 2013
Crystal Starr Light
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Crystal Starr Light by:
Christine
Shelves:
feminism,
non-fiction
Bullet Review:
Do not read this book if you are faint of heart. This book will make you want to cry, to tear your hair out in rage, to raise a fist to the hundreds of politicians sitting in cozy offices, ignoring the plea of these commercially sexually exploited girls. Because when you are a 15 year-old African-American runaway from the bad end of town, you aren't a "prostitute". If that girl were a pretty white girl in a middle- or upper-class home in a white neighborhood, you can sure as bet yo ...more
Do not read this book if you are faint of heart. This book will make you want to cry, to tear your hair out in rage, to raise a fist to the hundreds of politicians sitting in cozy offices, ignoring the plea of these commercially sexually exploited girls. Because when you are a 15 year-old African-American runaway from the bad end of town, you aren't a "prostitute". If that girl were a pretty white girl in a middle- or upper-class home in a white neighborhood, you can sure as bet yo ...more

Can someone please explain the Nobel Peace Prize Committee to me? Seriously. Look, I voted for Obama, and I still don’t understand why he won the Peace Prize. And the EU, honestly Canada, the US, and Mexico have avoided going to war for years and do we get a prize? Nope. Why don’t people like Rachel Lloyd win the blasted thing?
Lloyd’s book chronicles not only her experience as a se trafficking victim, but more importantly, the work she does with GEMS helping girls overcome their abuse and find ...more
Lloyd’s book chronicles not only her experience as a se trafficking victim, but more importantly, the work she does with GEMS helping girls overcome their abuse and find ...more

Jul 02, 2013
Kaari Anzel
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favorites,
most-influential-to-me
I have to say, this is really the book that changed my life. Before I read it, I had only the vaguest suspicions that the boyfriend I'd had when I was 18, the one I thought loved me like no one else did, the one I gave all my stripper and "extras" money to, was really a pimp. I thought I'd just been weak and stupid, but this book explained the psychology of "the life" in a clear way that gave me a better understanding of myself- such a gift! What's more, it gave me increased empathy for the girl
...more

This is a book that everyone should read. Rachel Lloyd tells her story of sexual exploitation as a young girl, how she finally escaped the grips of her pimp, and made the decision to start working with other young girls and women. Lloyd grew up in England in a rough and tumultuous home. As a teen, she ran away to Germany, where penniless and frightened, she started working as a stripper. Her stories are heartbreaking and real. She is graphic in her depictions of physical abuse; the story is freq
...more

I was a little nervous about adding this book to the collection as it is a book about the sex trafficking trade. However, it was a starred review and recommended for teens. So, when it arrived, I put it on my list of books to read.
I was pleasantly surprised. It was fabulous. Ms. Lloyd is to be commended, not only for writing a wonderful book on a topic that many Americans don't think about (the American sex slave, child prostitute), but for opening up her own life for as a lens to use for looki ...more
I was pleasantly surprised. It was fabulous. Ms. Lloyd is to be commended, not only for writing a wonderful book on a topic that many Americans don't think about (the American sex slave, child prostitute), but for opening up her own life for as a lens to use for looki ...more

I had the privilege of meeting Rachel Lloyd at a talk tonight at Circle of Hope where I bought her book, which she inscribed, "To the girls at Penn Treaty, with encouragement, love, & respect."
...more

It's hard to read a book like this without your eyes welling up continuously. The author, Rachel Lloyd, is a saint.
The book alternates chapters of her life "in the life," which means exploited girls in the commercial sex trade, with her struggle and eventual success at establishing an organization called GEMS, which rescues trafficked girls in the United States and rebuilds their lives, which often takes months or years. The girls are trafficked as young as 11, often from abusive homes, and deve ...more
The book alternates chapters of her life "in the life," which means exploited girls in the commercial sex trade, with her struggle and eventual success at establishing an organization called GEMS, which rescues trafficked girls in the United States and rebuilds their lives, which often takes months or years. The girls are trafficked as young as 11, often from abusive homes, and deve ...more

This was a very interesting, thought-provoking book; my biggest gripe was I wish there was a lot more story, and less commentary.
"I don't care what you call it, sexual exploitation and all that. To everyone else, we still hoes," someone tells the author at one point. The 2 main underlying points of the book, as I understood it, are (1) girls in the sex industry are by definition "victims" who are being exploited for profit, and should be thought of as such; and (2) mainstream society and cultur ...more
"I don't care what you call it, sexual exploitation and all that. To everyone else, we still hoes," someone tells the author at one point. The 2 main underlying points of the book, as I understood it, are (1) girls in the sex industry are by definition "victims" who are being exploited for profit, and should be thought of as such; and (2) mainstream society and cultur ...more

Jun 26, 2020
Colleen
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
wheel-a-thon-v-2020
There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children. - Nelson Mandela
Omniscient - having complete or unlimited knowledge, awareness, or understanding
All of the omnis - all powerful, all-knowing and always there
(Omnipresent & Omnipotent)
Omniscient - having complete or unlimited knowledge, awareness, or understanding
All of the omnis - all powerful, all-knowing and always there
(Omnipresent & Omnipotent)

If you scroll through the books I read, I might read a variety of things (YA, adult, manga, middle grade, manhwa) but rarely do I touch nonfiction. I'm not much of a nonfiction reader, it's not something I particularly like to read. So when I was given this book, I was hesitant to read it. When I decided to buckle down and give it a go, I was punctured through the soul from page one.
The data that Rachel Lloyd provides may have changed, but it does not neglect the information that is discussed a ...more
The data that Rachel Lloyd provides may have changed, but it does not neglect the information that is discussed a ...more

Absolutely devastating and important memoir written by a woman who was exploited in the commercial sex trade as a girl and who now runs an organization to help others get out of "the life." Or to simply support them when they're not "ready." I have a lot of feelings about this book, and they're mostly difficult to articulate and it's one of those instances where everything was both utterly surprising/horrifying yet somehow not surprising at all. It's absolutely sickening how many (including law
...more

This book is sometimes surprising, sad, and painful to read. It is important to fight against the human trafficking that traps these girls in lives spent in commercial sexual exploitation. Lloyd emphasizes, rightfully, that it is not the victim's fault they are being exploited and discusses the troubles and victories she - and others - have faced in adapting back to normal lives. It discusses many nuances of the problem, making for an informative and eye-opening read.
"At thirteen, Rachel Lloyd ...more
"At thirteen, Rachel Lloyd ...more

I want to pass this book around to everybody I know and tell them, "READ THIS. It's important." I got Girls Like Us after hearing Rachel Lloyd speak. She is as eloquent, passionate, and moving in person as she is in the pages here. Her critiques on feminism, race, poverty, and the way we categorize and dismiss people is as alarming as it is true. And yet, as sad as her story and the stories of the girls she works with can be at times, the message of hope and resilience shines through beautifully
...more

This should be a basic primer for anyone wanting to learn more about sex trafficking. The author weaves her own story of being caught up in the sex trade within the stories of others and the stories of the work she does now to help others out of trafficking. It's heartbreaking, eye-opening, terrible, but also inspiring and amazing. You will close the book with hope, but you should also close the book determined to make a difference.
...more

A moving, honest, raw portrait, discussion and explanation of commercial sexual exploitation of children and all its causes, casualties and implications. I learned so much from this book and am grateful to Rachel Lloyd for telling her story and the stories of the GEMS girls. This has forever impacted me and my view of this horrific American institution of which I knew nothing (except for the stereotypes and misinformation propagated in America to absolve our country of responsibility).

"Sing me a pretty love song as I start to cry
Tell me you love me as you wipe the blood from my eye
Tell me why the only one who can wipe away my tears
Is the only one who's the source of all my fears"
“..you may not be able to choose your family or origin but you can choose your family of creation.” ...more
Tell me you love me as you wipe the blood from my eye
Tell me why the only one who can wipe away my tears
Is the only one who's the source of all my fears"
“..you may not be able to choose your family or origin but you can choose your family of creation.” ...more

– Fighting for a world where girls are not for sale –
Statistics and news reports show it’s a dangerous world. Each year brings more and more stories of how girls everywhere are bought, sold, and traded with little thought to their personhood. But even though I understand that sad reality on a cognitive level, Girls Like Us, a gripping memoir by Rachel Lloyd, made me truly, deeply understand it for the first time in the pit of my stomach. With tears in my eyes.
Never before has a book made me feel ...more
Statistics and news reports show it’s a dangerous world. Each year brings more and more stories of how girls everywhere are bought, sold, and traded with little thought to their personhood. But even though I understand that sad reality on a cognitive level, Girls Like Us, a gripping memoir by Rachel Lloyd, made me truly, deeply understand it for the first time in the pit of my stomach. With tears in my eyes.
Never before has a book made me feel ...more

Dec 17, 2019
Literary Strawberry
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
adult,
non-fiction
Absolutely phenomenal. Rachel Lloyd does such a good job of looking at all the different aspects of this issue, including /great/ discussion of the psychological aspect, woven together with her personal stories, and it's all so well-written and engaging and so, so important. She doesn't shy away from showing the full reality of what's happening, but while she certainly describes a lot of physical abuse, I felt that she didn't go into any unnecessarily graphic detail about the sexual parts, which
...more

“If an under age (sex trafficking) victim from Thailand, Ukraine, or anywhere else in the world is found at 2 am in a brothel in Queens, she was eligible for the services provided and funded by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act Of 2000. She could be taken to a safe house, given counseling for her trauma, and treated, as she should be, as a victim. If the girl who was found at two in the morning is an American girl, especially a girl of color, she was arrested, charged with an act of prostit
...more

Very interesting book to read about sex trafficking and human exploitation. Rachel Lloyd does a fantastic job, and it is inspiring to watch how she has progressed and motivated herself to get out of the life. She created a safe place and enforced advocacy among girls who are or have been in the life. I would recommend to read this book, as it makes individuals aware that sex trafficking is happening in the world, and we should not be blind to it. Educating ourselves about human trafficking is ex
...more

I donate to GEMS every year, and finally got around to reading the book by the founder. GEMS is so important, helping young girls who are commercially sexually trafficked. This is an issue that Americans are unaware of in regards of its severity, or, often, find the girls who are trafficked not as victims, but as "bad" girls. This book has gut wrenching stories, but it also so important in understanding these children in the "life."
...more

This book is FANTASTIC. AMAZING. I'd give it 6 stars if I could. As someone who works with trafficked and sexually exploited adults I often have trouble articulating to people how my clients are treated systematically, and how they came to be in the life. This book does a brilliant job of explaining the realities and guiding the reader with empathy. Really great book.
...more

This book gave me such a reaction, it took me forever to finish it. This is an emotional, raw, realistic in your face read. I have learned more about commercially exploited girls than I wanted to, however should know. This isn't just a third world country situation. This is a HUGE activity here in the US and it can happen to any girl.
The following are just a few things that made me scream:
Those of us that watch Law & Order:SVU have grown to love Ice-T. At least I like his character. We know him ...more
The following are just a few things that made me scream:
Those of us that watch Law & Order:SVU have grown to love Ice-T. At least I like his character. We know him ...more

Mar 22, 2011
melanie (lit*chick)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
memoirs,
non-fiction
Giving away a copy here:
http://litchick.typepad.com/mellymel/...
It takes a great deal of effort for me to step out of my reading comfort zone and pick up something that I know to be challenging either in content or perspective. Girls LIke Us accomplished both of those goals. This book is many things - memoir, essay, social commentary - all bound in a remarkable, sometimes heartbreaking, yet redemptive package.
Author Rachel Lloyd takes real stories, those we hide from, yet know to be true, and s ...more
http://litchick.typepad.com/mellymel/...
It takes a great deal of effort for me to step out of my reading comfort zone and pick up something that I know to be challenging either in content or perspective. Girls LIke Us accomplished both of those goals. This book is many things - memoir, essay, social commentary - all bound in a remarkable, sometimes heartbreaking, yet redemptive package.
Author Rachel Lloyd takes real stories, those we hide from, yet know to be true, and s ...more

This was a powerful book. It weaves together Ms. Lloyd's own story of growing up in an abusive household and her entry into prostitution and her subsequent rise out of "the life" to create GEMS - Girls Educational and Mentoring Services - with the stories of the girls she met along the way. And I do mean girls. Some of these trafficked girls were as young as eleven. It is very hard to read stories of girls that young being abused at the hands of both their pimps and the justice system.
I found I ...more
I found I ...more

I'd never given human trafficking much thought. The victims I pictured were European immigrants or middle-class runaways forced into prostitution. Most of my knowledge came from TV shows or movies like Taken.
Then I read Girls Like Us. Girls Like Us: Fighting for a World Where Girls are Not for Sale, an Activist Finds Her Calling and Heals Herself The author, Rachel Lloyd, Rachel Lloyd founded the non-profit GEMS (Girls Educational & Mentoring Services) to help girls who have been victimized by c ...more
Then I read Girls Like Us. Girls Like Us: Fighting for a World Where Girls are Not for Sale, an Activist Finds Her Calling and Heals Herself The author, Rachel Lloyd, Rachel Lloyd founded the non-profit GEMS (Girls Educational & Mentoring Services) to help girls who have been victimized by c ...more

"Sing me a pretty love song as I begin to cry.
Tell me you love me as you wipe the blood from my eye.
Tell me why the only one who can wipe away my tears
Is the only one who's the source of all my fears."
Young girls who aren't loved or protected by their parents can often be successfully groomed by pimps. These girls yearn to be taken care of and loved. They are often prosecuted as prostitutes but according to the author they are "commercial sexually exploited teens". Rachel Lloyd knows of what she ...more
Tell me you love me as you wipe the blood from my eye.
Tell me why the only one who can wipe away my tears
Is the only one who's the source of all my fears."
Young girls who aren't loved or protected by their parents can often be successfully groomed by pimps. These girls yearn to be taken care of and loved. They are often prosecuted as prostitutes but according to the author they are "commercial sexually exploited teens". Rachel Lloyd knows of what she ...more
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In 1998, at just 23 years old, Rachel Lloyd founded Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS) at her kitchen table with $30 and a borrowed computer. She was driven by the lack of services for commercially sexually exploited and domestically trafficked girls and young women and the incredible stigma and punishment they faced from service providers, law enforcement, the courts, their families,
...more
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“Children who are victimized through sexual abuse often begin to develop deeply held tenets that shape their sense of self: 'My worth is my sexuality. I'm dirty and shameful. I have no right to my own physical boundaries.' That shapes their ideas about the world around them: 'No one will believe me. Telling the truth results in bad consequences. People can't be trusted.' It doesn't take long for children to being to act in accordance with these belief systems.
For girls who have experienced incest, sexual abuse, or rape, the boundaries between love, sex, and pain become blurred. Secrets are normal, and shame is a constant.”
—
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For girls who have experienced incest, sexual abuse, or rape, the boundaries between love, sex, and pain become blurred. Secrets are normal, and shame is a constant.”
“I am both numb and oversensitive, overwhelmed by the need, the raw and desperate need of the girls I am listening to and trying to help. I'm overdosing on the trauma of others, while still barely healing from my own.
I cry for hour at home and have fitful nights of little sleep. My nightmares resurface as my own pain is repeated to me, magnified a thousand times. It feels insurmountable. How can you save everyone? How can you rescue them? How do you get over your pain? How do you ever feel normal?”
—
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More quotes…
I cry for hour at home and have fitful nights of little sleep. My nightmares resurface as my own pain is repeated to me, magnified a thousand times. It feels insurmountable. How can you save everyone? How can you rescue them? How do you get over your pain? How do you ever feel normal?”