I've written about GEMS (Girls Educational and Mentoring Services) before. Basically, I think they are the shit. In more official terms, they are "the nation's largest survivor-led organization serving American girls and young women who have experienced sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation." You may remember the amazing documentary on their work called Very Young Girls, which is now available via Netflix.
Well GEMS is at it again. This time they're joining forces with Beyoncé Knowles, Halle Berry, Demi Moore, Sinead O'Connor, Mary J Blige, Katie Ford and women across America for their Girls Are Not for Sale campaign. According to GEMS:
The campaign will use e-activism, live events, all-star artist collaborations and other initiatives to promote girls empowerment and education as critical tools in the fight against child traffickers and pimps who victimize between 100,000 and 300,000 American children and teens each year.
After seeing the film, Beyonce said, "I don't know how anyone could see that documentary and not want to help those young women. I didn't want to just donate money, I wanted them to know that someone really cared about them. My time, my heart, my ears, and my voice are the biggest gifts I could think to give." She hung out with the girls featured in the film and others who are now working with GEMS, and reflected: "I wanted to listen to every girl's story and the stories were all so different. I watched them dance. I heard them sing. I asked lots of questions. They were so open and so brave."
You go Ms. Fierce. Want to get involved? Join the Council of Daughters:
GEMS hopes many more women will join Knowles and other artists in spreading the girls' message. The organization has launched a national social network, The Council of Daughters, to empower women and girls to bring the needs of young survivors into local communities. Through its online hub - http://www.councilofdaughters.ning.com - Council members can meet, share news and ideas, plan campaign events, raise funds and introduce the needs of girls to their friends through a variety of social media tools. Council members across the country, in conjunction with Netflix, the world's largest online movie rental service, will host National Viewing Nights to celebrate the online and DVD premiere of 'Very Young Girls'.
We'd love to hear about your viewing night experience on our community site, so get registered, get watching, get reflecting, and make the world a better place for this country's most vulnerable girls.
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Strides in the Fight Against Sexual Exploitation of Girls .
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.feministing.com/cgi-bin/movabletype/mt-tb.fcgi/14808
I tend to be a little wary of celebrity videos like this (the "Yes We Can" music video last year was particularly self-serving) but this sounds great and I will definitely check it out.
I see her on some fight against hunger campaign in partnership with Hamburger Helper. She's like "Help us fight hunger"...I, however, think that if you are asking me to help fight hunger, let me suggest that you pawn your jewelry and send the money to charitable organizations. Or just dive in and help. I don't know where, but I saw a site where it showed how many children celebrities could feed with their rings.
I'm very proud of Mrs. Knowles for this that she did and I do want to check out that documentary. It's so sad to hear girls going through that and I know 12 year olds that have gotten put into that.
What's sad is where I used to live, there was this middle school and grown men would recruit girls from the middle school by befriending them, kicking it with them, protecting them, and then eventually they put them out on the streets to sell themselves (or they'll have them sell drugs). I even have an ex friend of mine now that is only 15 who is probably being pimped by this 21 year old that has just gotten out of jail (I don't know for sure though. I've kicked it with the guy as well but he's never tried anything with him and probably won't because I'm 17 so I'm kinda too old which is kinda funny and disturbing).
I even was one time recruited at 15 by a man in his late 20's who tried to send me to this street that is known as the prostitute street to sell myself but I was way stronger at saying no than most girls at my age. It's a scary situation and I do think it's a major problem.
The situation you told us about here is horrible! Also, I bet some First World people think it's only a Third World and maybe Second World thing, and they need to listen to people like you talking about how it's closer to home too.
Oh goodness. I had no idea this was so widespread in developed countries either. Does the school know about this problem? Given the situation, they should not be allowing men other than students' relatives (maybe even men other than students' guardians) on campus. Thank you for sharing this!