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LREI Feminism Class With Rachel LLoyd
My journey learning about the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) started with a very eye-opening documentary, Very Young Girls. This documentary unveils the truth behind the commercial sex industry and reaffirmed my previous views on the commercial sexual exploitation of children. I was aware of this issue, but I was never really able to identify and see exactly what CSEC is, how it works, and the effects it has on the young girls involved. Furthermore, before experiencing this film, I was not able to put a face on the terrible perpetrators of CSEC; the pimps.
To be honest, before seeing this film, I often found myself asking the very common (yet ignorant) question of: “Why don’t these girls just leave their pimps?” For me Very Young Girls informed and educated me about the horrible persuasiveness, tactics, and cruelness of the pimps, or “daddy’s,” as they are referred to in the film. As this clip shows, pimps understand and know how to manipulate young girls living in poverty to a dangerous and obsessive point. They understand the psychology behind the manipulation of these girls and use such tactics as a “honeymoon stage.”
A honeymoon stage is referred to as a period in time where the pimp buys material things for the commercial sexually exploited child, who generally has never met someone who has invested such interest in her before. Pimps become a kind of father figure to lure the girls into a cycle of selling themselves for sex. Many of these girls have never had a father, let alone someone who buys them things and who “cares” about them. Pimps take advantage of this fact by playing both “boyfriend” roles and “father” roles at the same time. The girls eventually gain an emotional connection to these men who take care of them in both ways as a boyfriend and a father would. Due to these roles that these men play, and to answer my own question, it is a lot harder for these young girls to just “leave their pimps” as it seems in our society.
Rachel Lloyd author of the memoir Girls Like Us explains how socioeconomic class also plays a huge role in CSEC girls leaving their pimps. The young girls often grow up in poverty and generally have nowhere to go. In some cases, they are fleeing a sexually abusive household, and then are picked up in the streets shortly after escaping, as explained in Lloyd’s memoir.
In my interview with Lloyd, she explains how “70-80% of girls who are in the sex industry were sexually abused as children growing up.” It is clear that this cycle of escaping one sexual abuser (at home) to be picked up by another (a pimp on the streets) takes a horrendous toll on the young girls involved. Through her memoir and reinforced by her interviews led by the feminism class at LREI, Lloyd conveys how socioeconomic class is at the root of the issue of CSEC. There is this connection between the class of these women, and how the pimps exploit the fact that these girls of color are generally very poor. As I explained before, pimps comfort these girls by buying them things which the girls interpret as a form of caring and support- an emotion that many of the girls have longed for but have never truly felt.
Only further promoting the disgusting actions of the pimps is society’s acceptance of pimp culture. As Lloyd clearly explained in both the interview and Girls Like Us, society often glorifies pimps and the “style” and “culture” behind them. She uses the example of 50 Cent’s “P.I.M.P” as a clear example of how glorified pimp culture is. The song’s “catchy beat” serves as a way to “gloss over the lyrics” of the song which include lines like ‘I put stitches in her head’ and ‘she be happy with Micky Ds’.” It seems to be very popular to be a “pimp” because society views that identity as being wealthy, and having girls do work for you. However, the reality behind it is that pimps are manipulative, life-ruining people who are also trying to find a way out of poverty.
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High Five!
There is hope to ending CSEC, and that starts with Rachel Lloyd’s program GEMS: Girls Education and Mentoring Services. When asked how to stop CSEC, Rachel Lloyd jokingly said, “just stop listening to 50 Cent.” Her words then became more serious as she talked about her work, describing how GEMS gives CSEC a chance “to be a kid again.”
She stated how “many of these girls have never had a chance to grow up.” GEMS offers girls housing, recovery groups, help with schooling and work, counseling, and trips to various museums around New York City. To really end CSEC as a society we must first stop the acceptance of pimp culture, change laws against “prostitutes” who are really sexually exploited children, and recognize the fact that these are “very young girls.”
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
