Teenage Girls Lured Into Forced Sex As 'Payment' For Drug Debts By London Gangs: Report

Last Updated:February 22, 2026, 10:56 IST

The report revealed that young girls are often lured into gang activity, including dealing drugs, trading weapons and stealing phones, before being sexually exploited.

In a shocking revelation, women and teenage girls as young as 14 are being groomed to have forced sex by criminal gangs in London, according to a BBC report.

As per the report, several victims said they had been sexually exploited multiple times as a form of “payment" for unpaid drug debts. Others were pressurised, manipulated and in some cases, groomed just before sex.

The report also revealed that young girls are often lured into gang activity, including dealing drugs, trading weapons and stealing phones, before being sexually exploited.

One of the victims, Kelly (name changed), said she was initially drawn into drug dealing by three men and later pressured into having sex to settle debts or maintain gang loyalty.

“I didn’t feel like I was groomed or exploited. I didn’t think I was a victim. It’s taken me a while to realise I was used and manipulated. It gave my life purpose for a bit and I felt needed," she told the news outlet adding, “I didn’t feel that at home. I was looking for something because I was lonely and bored."

Another survivor, Milly (name changed), told BBC that she was 15 when she was repeatedly given alcohol and drugs before being taken into bedrooms by different men. She said that she was often too intoxicated to remember details of the abuse.

Detective Sergeant John Knox, head of the Metropolitan Police’s child exploitation team in Lambeth and Southwark, said girls in gangs are often treated as the “lowest rung" and “cannot say no to sex".

“Within that gang world, the girls are at the lowest rung and they have to do as they’re told. And that includes sexually," he said.

He said that girls are as young as 13 but “15 would be the upper limit".

“The reality is, if a girl can’t say no, she’s being raped and that’s how we look at it as the police," he said.

Knox estimated that at least 60 children in his south London area are currently being exploited by gangs.

Public attention on grooming gangs has often focused on northern England. London Mayor Sadiq Khan had previously said there was no indication of grooming gangs operating in the capital on the same scale as seen in towns like Rotherham. However, a spokesperson recently said the mayor wants to ensure police tackle all forms of child sexual exploitation in London.

Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Kevin Southworth said the issue is “very high" on the force’s threat and risk radar and that significant resources are being dedicated to addressing it.

Social workers told the BBC that many victims come from vulnerable backgrounds, including broken homes, abuse or poverty, making them more susceptible to grooming and exploitation.

Police have said they will continue efforts to identify victims and bring offenders to justice, including reviewing hundreds of past cases of child sexual exploitation in the capital.

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