Teenage girls lured into forced sex by gangs in London, BBC finds

"Some told us they had been raped by several men as "payment" for unpaid drug debts run up by the gangs that controlled them, while others said they had been groomed just for sex. Our evidence - based on interviews with dozens of people in the capital over several weeks, including five survivors of gang-based violence - also shows how girls are often lured by groups of men into dealing drugs, trading weapons and stealing phones."

"One police officer in London said young girls and women were the "lowest rung" in gangs and were groomed and exploited "for everything". Public attention on grooming gangs has often centred on the north of England. A government-commissioned report last year found in three regions - Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire - there was enough evidence to show "disproportionate numbers of men from Asian ethnic backgrounds amongst suspects for group-based child sexual exploitation"."

Vulnerable women and girls as young as 14 are being lured into forced sex by gangs in London. Some survivors report rape by multiple men as 'payment' for unpaid drug debts, while others are groomed solely for sexual exploitation. Girls are often enticed into dealing drugs, trading weapons and stealing phones. Gangs in London come from a range of ethnic backgrounds, including white, and frequently exploit young women. Public attention on grooming gangs has concentrated in northern England, but evidence shows complex, citywide patterns of group-based child sexual exploitation. Young women often occupy the lowest rung in gang hierarchies and face widespread abuse.

Read at www.bbc.com