GEMS: Focusing on Human

Trafficking in the United

StatesBy Gary Starr

Introduction

A Northern California entrepreneurial visionary who has founded electric vehicle companies such as Eggasus, Enova and ZAP, Gary Starr serves as the chief operating officer for Make A Stand, Inc. Among the first B Corporations, or social-purpose enterprises, Gary Starr’s firm donates five percent of its revenues to nonprofit organizations dedicated to ending child slavery, including Free the Slaves and GEMS: Girls Educational & Mentoring Services. GEMS focuses on child trafficking and exploitation in the United States, a pressing issue given that a 2005 U.S. Department of State report estimates that between 15,000 to 20,000 people per year are trafficked within domestic borders.

About GEMS

GEMS provides a host of coordinated services, including prevention, youth outreach, and direct intervention. One of the organization’s key initiatives is Girls Like Us, which draws its inspiration from Rachel Lloyd’s memoir of the same name. The campaign centers around educating people about the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) and systems that perpetuate child trafficking and violence against young women.

Conclusion

In addition, the campaign seeks to eliminate the stigmas that domestic trafficking and CSEC victims face as they try to navigate their way back to an unexploited existence. Girls Like Us campaigners raise awareness of this serious issue through a variety of public education efforts utilizing Rachel Lloyd’s memoir and documentary film and discussion resources.