Women Reveal Drug Gang Exploitation and Police Failures

Four women have come forward to share their harrowing experiences of being sexually exploited and criminally manipulated by drug gangs during their adolescence, accusing authorities of neglecting their cases in favor of pursuing minor offenders.

Speaking anonymously no longer, the women appeared in the BBC documentary Britain’s Forgotten Girls to detail a pattern of abuse spanning from 2002 to last year. They describe how they were targeted as teenagers, coerced into violent sexual relationships, and forced to transport drugs across the UK.

Christine, who relocated to Coventry after her parents’ divorce, was 13 when she began communicating online with a man who posed as a peer. Upon meeting him, she discovered he was 23 and involved in gang activity. Over eight years, he subjected her to severe sexual exploitation and forced her to courier drugs. “I always knew… he’s probably hurt someone, but in terms of hurting me, I didn’t think it would get to that point,” Christine said.

Annie, from south-east London, recalled feeling flattered by the attention of older boys connected to drug gangs. The dynamic quickly shifted when the men drugged and raped her, threatening to release photographs of the assault if she did not comply with further sexual demands.

Holly, from Manchester, was recruited as a child and forced to sell and deliver drugs to cities as far north as Carlisle. She noted that gangs often exploit girls because they are less likely to be suspected or searched by law enforcement. Holly suffered repeated sexual assaults, which she initially internalized as a sign of belonging to a caring family.

A central theme in all four accounts is the perceived failure of police and social services. Christine stated that when she reported abuse at age 15, investigators lost interest once she provided information about drug houses, focusing instead on criminal offenses. Violet, who was abused by a south London gang starting at age 13, was told by officers there were “bigger fish to fry” regarding her rape allegations. Her case was eventually closed without a court trial, though she later received compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.

Connie Muttock of the Centre for Young Lives highlighted that while public discourse often focuses on grooming gangs, drug gangs primarily seek financial gain, yet girls are still frequently sexually abused within those structures. “As long as we’ve had drug gangs in the UK, we have had girls being abused and coerced within them,” Muttock said.

The 2012 inquiry by the Children’s Commission for England estimated that 16,500 children were at risk of abuse from criminal gangs. However, former deputy Children’s Commissioner Sue Berelowitz recalled that senior officials dismissed the report’s findings as “hysterical,” a sentiment compounded by concurrent high-profile cases involving Asian grooming gangs.

None of the four women have seen any prosecution for the abuses they suffered. Annie revealed she was told there was no realistic chance of conviction, a message that left her feeling complicit in her own victimization.

In response to these systemic failures, the government has established an independent inquiry under Baroness Louise Casey’s audit into group-based sexual abuse. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has acknowledged that this specific form of exploitation has not been sufficiently investigated. Acting Chief Constable Rebecca Riggs of the National Police Chiefs’ Council apologized, admitting that police did not always get it right and failed victims.

Today, the women have rebuilt their lives: Violet works in reproductive health, Annie runs the Hear Her Collective support network, and Holly researches child criminal exploitation.