Young girls across Britain are being groomed, trafficked and sexually exploited by drug gangs

I attended a lecture on Global Health and Development at one of London's top university's as part of my professional development. A fellow mature student (most of us were mature and working) asked the the lecturer / researcher a relevant question about human trafficking. She basically said coldly, oh never mind that, the figures for human trafficking are completely exaggerated, there really isn't a big or real problem. Academics in the field, including well travelled, intelligent, lefty academics deny there is a problem.

It's virtually impossible for people to talk about this abuse or do anything because all the state is opposed to people doing so and essentially supports the abusers. All the 'action' is entirely performative and not at all meaningful. I think it creates a very depressing, suppressive effect, which is obviously the intent.

Posh people generally don't care because it's working class girls too. It's not just seeing girls as subhuman it's seeing the working class as not fully human. Lucy Powell with her 'dog whistle' comment - has she suffered for that, has she lost her job, nope. It's accepted.

The mainstream (middle class) media suppress it too. No coverage AT ALL of the rape gang inquiry except via GB news.

Generally normal people are very against this abuse of girls but whether they're willing to lose their home over it and put their own kids at risk? It's a rare, brave soul who'll do that.

As a case in point, they've done nothing about Shabir Ahmed because they don't want to it's all performative 'trying to change the law' bollocks. You're telling me, given what he's been convicted of, they couldn't put him back in prison if they wanted to? He DIDN'T serve his full term they didn't have to release him, but they chose to.

When, as a comparison, they arrested Glinner at gunpoint for saying nothing illegal? Pfft. They don't want to, these are the people they want to support. Meanwhile the victims get NO support from police even when they ask for help when they're being threatened.

It's important to look at deeds not words. Maggie Oliver gets that. She's done so much and a few others have too and usually pay a very high price for doing so. Other than supporting her foundation, I feel totally powerless and at risk if I'm more outspoken and it's depressing as anything.

Maggie Oliver was blocked from protecting the girls in the police. They tried to bully her into silence, they tried to break her - she lost her home, she was living hand to mouth. I bet for most that worked.

https://www.bayes.citystgeorges.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2025/november/the-curious-liberation-of-speaking-out

From the above link

One investigation, Operation Augusta, was closed with no charges while Ms Oliver was on bereavement leave following her husband’s death. She resigned after challenging the GMP leadership over a decision to drop the testimony of a young woman from a trial triggered by a second investigation into organised sexual abuse involving men of Pakistani origin.
“This young woman was two years out of her abuse. I had gone to her. I had been tasked by the most senior officers in GMP with gaining the trust of victims amidst promises to me that there wouldn't be a repeat of Augusta. I had given them my word that if they put their trust in me, I would support them right through the system to court.”
Speaking truth to power
These events played out as the public learnt that South Yorkshire Police had repeatedly and systematically lied about the Hillsborough football disaster. The revelations only emerged after families of the 96 Liverpool fans who died had campaigned for decades.
Ms Oliver said: “Watching that story on the news, I didn’t want my children asking why I hadn’t told the truth (about the grooming gangs). I initially thought the problem was one lazy senior officer who told me senior officers make decisions and that if I couldn’t accept that then I was in the wrong job. The Chief Constable sent me a four line response after I submitted a file which was the size of War and Peace. It fell to me to decide to walk away or be a good little girl.”
In a meeting with another senior officer she was warned that going public with her concerns could see her charged with a criminal offence as police officers “effectively sign the Official Secrets Act”.

Agree but also there was a social worked who went to a let woman speak event who was told not to talk about how taxis would show up to care homes and take the girls away. She was told if she wanted to keep her career she needed to not rock the boat. Police did nothing when girls reported rape. The rot is very deep in certain areas in particular.

The girls were seen as culpable, they were not protected, this was the social services culture at the time, and as far as I can tell still is in some areas.

Agreed but it's another level when the police, social services and politicians are actively and obviously covering it up and enabling it though.

I mean I'd be more ashamed if I lived in Afghanistan, but then again I'd probably be dead over there so...

Epstein was bad, but at least everyone's pretended to be appalled - he was a private citizen. We're talking state actors here. And nothing, but nothing, is done about it.

I listened to Marlon West's testimony to the rape gang inquiry and it was heartbreaking. He reported his daughter missing to police so many times. They did nothing. He told them where she was, they did nothing. It sounded as if they expended a lot more energy trying to shut him up and wear him down than protecting his daughter.

I started a thread on the bbc one but deleted when I saw this. Then watched the film and am as appalled as all of you. It seems the police in particular failed them. And the male criminologists! Jfc!and no system for data collection. I’m so glad all have found careers where they can channel their experiences to make sure change happens.

I remember training on kcsie a number of years ago including county lines. I know send children were recognised as being targeted. Girls were not mentioned once

I’m a bit confused as to why TR film is linked here; I feel it over shadows discussion of the bbc one.

this board is specifically for sex and gender discussion hence the predominance of these threads.

pretty much the rest of mn is feminist general.

It's failure of care by politicians yes, but it's also the stripping to the bone of all the public services that could help. Social workers with no time at all to do anything, police with no time to do anything, all the boring safe free spaces like libraries and leisure centres where young teenage kids could go to get away from gang pressure, gone. When protections go the weakest suffer most.

I need to watch this.

Ashamed to be British? Men use, exploit and abuse women the world over. It's not an inherently British culture. It's men. Men throughout the world.

Thank you for flagging this. I rarely watch TV and it hadn't shown up on my feeds. I haven't watched it yet but sadly have some idea of what is in there.

To a PP's snide comment, I expect the reason this thread won't run anywhere near 40 pages is that no one, at least I hope to god no one, would ever turn up trying to argue any of this is in any way ok.

I think it has gone on for so long because people in power do not see woman and girls as fully human. The politicians trot out that they are working on reducing VAWG, but it never seems to happen. These poor girls have been let down by everyone who was supposed to protect them.

I mean they are drug dealers. They are already criminal presumably violent so it’s an easy step to abusing young women who are not worldly wise or informed enough to give them a wide berth. Hate to shatter innocence but girls need to be properly informed so they don’t fall for the lover boy crap these bastards reel them in with.

Agree about lack of long enough sentences or even ending up in court for rape.

As for drugs, don’t take illegal drugs and in a way create the market that leads to such gangs.

One of the most depressing things is that people paid for with public money are deliberately allowing this to happen, encouraging it even.

But I don't see how to make it stop because no one in power wants to, it's always another inquiry, kicking it into the long grass. Putting survivors through more trauma, doing nothing.

It is so awful and makes me ashamed to be British honestly.

Maggie Oliver has some choice words about Burnham. She is one of the few who's done so much for these girls. A warrior. Wish we could make her PM.

Self defence is hopeless. How can one little 13 year old girl take on numerous adult men 🙄. It’s more nuanced than that. All those girls went voluntarily initially to the gangs. As a parent you need to prevent that initial interaction. Or have your daughter being the one that “goes home”. All the girls said they went with a friend but the friend “went home” leaving her to be gang raped. You need your dd to not go in the first place or be wise enough to fucking leave.

The ones that were attacked were the ones who were vulnerable or had a fatal need to people please and get approval from the drug gangs. So lack of confidence I guess.

There are many threads about this. The difference with other topics, and it's utterly shameful this is so, is that the Government have shown time and again they will do nothing and side with the abusers. There seem to NEVER be any gains, any good news

Even when a tiny fraction of the rapists are jailed the sentences are piss poor, they're out in less. Women aren't protected from harassment once they're back out. The police don't help. We all know they'll do it again

Lowe's rape gang inquiry got hardly any press.

Survivors don't get help or support from Government it's left to organisations like the Maggie Oliver Foundation

That ridiculous document telling illegal migrant men not to rape children had the passport page of 'Janine Cooper', 16, as fair game. Produced by the government. Like a morally abhorrent evil advertisement

No-one in authority who colluded in abuse has been jailed or stripped of their job or pension.

I find the hypocrisy over Epstein so stark, it's not as if those in power here are any better.

It is difficult not to feel hopeless.

Thank you for explaining.

I must say I am slightly taken aback at the minimising of Robinson's exploitation of "Kate".

Not just that - self-defence lessons. My two (m/f) have been in lessons for the last four years. We live in a nice area but there's no way I wasn't preparing both of them for everything that could happen.

I would suggest that if there was a cross-dressing man involved then it would have 40 pages now. It's becoming increasingly clear that this particular corner of the internet is only concerned with one aspect of women's rights. Single sex spaces only when it means trans people are negatively affected. But I would also guess that it's just a very vocal minority dominating threads and conversations to give that impression. (cue pile on!)

Not quite the same as the gangs
Drug using males(heroin ,crack,valium )etc exploit female partners,prostitution,taking money ,taking the lions share of a score.
Remember a couple arguing early morning city centre he was scoffing all the valium and she was screaming crying for her bit.
He said here's your 3.
It's been happening for decades.

The Disney idea of being swept off your feet by a “boyfriend” gave these scumbags the “in” they needed with these young girls.

My take away was if I was parenting a girl aged 12 plus now I would sit her down to watch that program and to ensure she was extremely cynical and knowledgeable about men and boys. I would emphasise she was to come to me if she had the slightest concern about a boy. Sorry boy mums but needs must.

Why do you think that is? I am afraid I am not brave enough to watch it at the moment. Maybe others feel the same.

I've been aware of the sexual exploitation within gangs for years, from news stories here and there, so clearly there has been some reporting – but I agree the abuse may be so prevalent for each case not to be seen as "new news".

I also agree with @TransParentlyAnnoyed. Social attitudes to exploited women and girls have changed since my young days, but they haven't changed enough.