GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. -- At age 13, Rachel Lloyd found herself spiraling into a life of abuse as a victim of commercial sexual exploitation. Eventually, she was able to escape her circumstances, going on to earn a Masters in applied urban anthropology from the City College of New York.
She is also the founder and executive director of Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS). This program helps girls and young women, ages 12-21, who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking.
In her memoir, Girls Like Us: Fighting for a World Where Girls Are Not For Sale, an Activist Finds Her Calling and Heals Herself (Harper; $24.99 hardcover), Lloyd tells of her own story and draws much need attention to the epidemic of sexual exploitation of children in the U.S.
She visited Minnesota to speak at the Minnesota Indian Womens Resource Center in Minneapolis and joined KARE 11 News at 4 to talk about her book.
(Copyright 2011 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)