Background:
Rachel Lloyd, a human trafficking survivor and the founder of GEMS, and the author of Girls Like Us, worked with a film crew to create this documentary called, “Very Young Girls.” This film focuses on the commercial sexual exploitation of young girls in New York City as they are pimped out and abused by buyers while treated like criminals by those who are supposed to help them.
Over the next 4 days, we will be watching clips from the documentary and posting discussion questions. This is a heavy watch for mature audiences only, and I encourage anyone watching to watch with their own discretion. Although the show will be for mature audiences, feel free to take what you’ve learned and share it through discussion with others - young and old.
Action: Watch Part 1
Watch the first 11.5 minutes, then watch the 17.5-20 minute mark of Very Young Girls here for free.
If you’d like to follow the entire film over the next four days, watch the first full 20 minutes.
Action: Talk it out
Consider the following discussion questions and talk through them with your family, team, and send your thoughts to us on social media!
The film opens with girls stating how young they were when they entered ‘the game’ or ‘the life.’ Why do you think the average age of entry into the sex trade is so young? How do we combat this?
Dominique says her house was full of ‘fist fights’ and so she ran away at 13. How do unstable homes play a role in human trafficking and how do pimps take advantage of girls from unstable homes? What can we do to help?
Dominique also talked about her lack of choices and places to go. How can we advocate and work towards better services for kids like Dominque?
Action: Raise Awareness
Check out our Instagram story to be a part of the discussion today!
Don’t forget to keep gathering donations using your fundraising link to help survivors like Dominique!