- Women and girls as young as 14 face forced sex by gangs in London, per report
- Victims are often raped repeatedly to settle unpaid drug debts or for manipulation
- Survivors describe grooming, drug involvement, and being passed to multiple men
Women and girls, some as young as 14, have been subject to forced sex by criminal gangs in London, according to a report. Many among them said they had been raped multiple times as a form of "payment" for unpaid drug debts, BBC reported.
Others were pressurised, manipulated and in some cases, groomed just before sex.
One of the victims, pseudonym Kelly, said she was groomed by three men in London who slowly drew her into a world of drugs and sexual exploitation.
She revealed that she was struggling financially and emotionally, but the situation quickly worsened, and she was pressured into having sex. "I had no money, felt neglected and saw an opportunity to feel part of something. Before long, I was selling drugs on the streets."
She alleged she was pressured into having sex, sometimes to settle drug debts, sometimes to keep other gang members happy and at times, to entice customers to buy drugs from her and the gang. At that time, she did not see herself as victim and only later did she understand that the men manipulated her.
Another London survivor, who goes by the name Milly, revealed that she was often given alcohol and drugs before being taken into bedrooms by different men. She also said the men sometimes made comments about her being a "young white girl."
"I was 15. I was getting passed around different men every night - sometimes 10 or 15 a month," she told the BBC.
However, not all cases were of grooming and related to drug dealing in the city. One of the survivors said she was going through a difficult phase in her life when she met multiple men. She said the men gave her expensive gifts and attention and over time, she became sexually involved with them.
But she later realised that their interest was not genuine. She said they only wanted sex and were taking advantage of her vulnerable state. "They didn't want anything but sex. I was low and they gave me expensive things so I felt wanted and then slept with them," she added.
Detective Sergeant John Knox, head of a specialist team in Lambeth and Southwark, said, "Within that gang world, the girls are at the lowest rung and they have to do as they're told. And that includes sexually," reported The Standard. He believes that at least 60 children in his area of south London are currently being exploited by gangs.
Knox said the girls inside gangs cannot say no to sex and they have to do as they're told.
Last year, Sadiq Khan, British Labour politician and the first Muslim to serve as Mayor of London, ignored the question, saying, "He is not clear what the term meant," when asked nine times whether "rape gangs" were operating in London, either now or in the past.
He previously stated there was no "indication" of grooming gangs operating in London on a scale comparable to cases seen in Rochdale or Rotherham. "It's absolutely outrageous that Sadiq Khan fails to take this seriously," said Conservative member of the London Assembly, Susan Hall.
About 2,000 cases of child exploitation are reported every year, including child sexual exploitation and child criminal exploitation. The London Metropolitan Police has also said it will re-examine at least 1,200 old cases of child sexual exploitation.
