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A recent investigation has found that vulnerable teenage girls in London are being drawn into gangs and forced into sexual exploitation, revealing how criminal networks target young women through grooming, drug debt, and emotional manipulation.
The BBC report, based on weeks of interviews in the British capital, including testimony from survivors, police, and social workers, and interviews with dozens of people, including five survivors of gang-based violence, shows that girls as young as 13 are recruited into gang activity and later subjected to forced sex, criminal exploitation, and control.
The investigation also found that gangs often draw girls into wider criminal activity, including drug dealing, trading weapons, and stealing phones, before sexual exploitation occurs.
Some survivors said gangs forced them to have sex with multiple men as repayment for unpaid drug debts. Others said they were groomed primarily for sexual exploitation.
The findings present a complex picture of gang activity in London and challenge assumptions that such cases follow a single pattern or involve one type of perpetrator, with police and experts saying perpetrators come from a range of backgrounds in the diverse capital.
Investigators found that gangs often target girls experiencing loneliness, poverty, neglect, or unstable home environments.
Social workers said these vulnerabilities make young people more susceptible to manipulation, particularly those from broken homes or with histories of abuse, drug exposure, or financial hardship.
Kelly, a survivor identified under a pseudonym, said she initially became involved after feeling isolated and seeking belonging.
“I had no money, felt neglected, and saw an opportunity to feel part of something,” she said. “Before long, I was selling drugs on the streets.”
She said the situation escalated into sexual exploitation.
“That turned into having sex to keep people on side if we owed them,” she said, adding that she did not initially recognize she was being abused. “I didn’t think I was a victim.”
Police describe young women as occupying the lowest position in gang hierarchies. Detective Sergeant John Knox, who leads a Metropolitan Police child exploitation team in south London, said girls inside gangs often cannot refuse sexual demands.
“Within that gang world, the girls are at the lowest rung, and they have to do as they’re told,” Knox said. “If a girl can’t say no, she’s being raped.”
Knox said girls are often groomed and exploited “for everything,” meaning sexual abuse forms part of wider criminal control within gang structures.
Knox estimated that at least 60 children in his policing area alone are currently being exploited by gangs, with victims sometimes as young as 13.
The BBC also documented cases that did not involve drug dealing. One survivor, identified as Milly, said she was repeatedly sexually abused at age 15 after being given alcohol and drugs. She said she was assaulted by multiple men over extended periods and later struggled to recall details because of intoxication.
Another survivor said she received gifts and attention from men who then exploited her situation. “They didn’t want anything but sex,” she said.
The investigation emerges amid ongoing debate over the extent and nature of grooming networks in London.
Public discussion in the United Kingdom has often focused on group-based child sexual exploitation cases in northern England. A government-commissioned review previously found disproportionate numbers of suspects from Asian ethnic backgrounds in several regions.
However, police in London say gang activity in the capital reflects the city’s broader diversity. Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner Kevin Southworth said authorities do not see a disproportionate number of suspects from any single ethnic group.
“Our suspects straddle the entire diverse range of London’s communities,” he said.
Lawyers and experts have also urged caution in drawing racial conclusions, citing gaps in national data on perpetrators’ backgrounds.
The Metropolitan Police receives around 2,000 reports each year related to child exploitation, including sexual and criminal abuse. Authorities have announced plans to re-examine at least 1,200 past cases following a national review.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said child exploitation remains a priority for city authorities and pledged support for efforts to bring offenders to justice, stating that any individuals or groups exploiting children for sex are “utterly abhorrent” and must face accountability.
Officials say the issue remains high on the police “threat and risk radar,” while an independent inquiry into grooming gangs is expected to begin later this year. The inquiry will have powers to compel evidence and investigate local cases.
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