Girls Like Us: Fighting For a World Where Girls Are Not For Sale

Lloyd graphically describes her experience being kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend Mike, who aimed to punish her for not loving him by selling her into the sex industry. Lloyd’s account shows the ways in which women’s concerns about their own safety are often overlooked, even by the very institutions that are supposed to protect them. When Lloyd is able to break free from Mike, find a police station, and report the kidnapping to a police officer, the male cop not only chooses not to believe her—though her body is riddled with bruises—but releases Mike from custody and suggests that Lloyd get a ride back to town with him. This blatant disregard for women’s lives, and the male privilege that Mike represents, becomes a symbol of the ways in which women are mistreated, personally, socially, and politically.

At the beginning of the book, Lloyd details her experience with a 14-year-old girl named Danielle. Danielle has been trafficked for sex since the age of 11, and her story exemplifies the various issues surrounding sexual exploitation that Lloyd writes about. Before explaining Danielle’s involvement in the sex industry, Lloyd describes Danielle’s love of SpongeBob SquarePants, swimming, poetry, and Mexican food. Lloyd highlights the ways in which Danielle, though she has experienced extreme trauma, is still a child. The foster care agency’s response to Danielle proves one of Lloyd’s main points that government and nonprofit entities do not have the right resources or perspective to fully support sexually exploited girls, introducing the book’s theme of distrust of institutions. Furthermore, Danielle’s lack of family support and poor treatment as a black girl, and the foster care agency’s clear targeting of children of color, strengthens Lloyd’s arguments around the dangers of racial bias and the influence of family that contributes to girls entering the sex industry.