relatively stable – but, due to her unresolved trauma, she soon returned to drinking heavily, smoking cannabis, and gambling. Her workplace was close to her first foster home, and before long she came back into contact with members of the gang that had abused her at that time. The cycle of grooming, exploitation, and abuse soon resumed. Her relationship with her boyfriend broke down, and, out of desperation, she re-established contact with her mother – who had left her predatory husband – and soon moved back in with her. One night, Chloe was out with members of the gang and drinking heavily. Upon her return to her mother’s house, her mother reported her to the police. The police arrested Chloe while she was changing into her pyjamas, and she was taken to the police station drunk and half-naked. She was kept in a cell until two am the following morning, at which point she was released. They did not provide her with any clothes or transportation back to her mother’s house. She tried to contact her ex-boyfriend, but he did not respond. Chloe, then 19, was left stranded. She wandered around the neighbourhood for several hours before encountering a gang member who had previously abused her. Cold and desperate, she got into his car, and, for the following weeks, was trafficked across the country. Eventually, Chloe identified a new house to move into. Despite their dysfunctional relationship, her mother agreed to sign the rental agreement as Chloe’s guarantor, as Chloe – then without income – knew she would not be able to afford the rent. After she moved in, she became aware of the fact that she was the only White British person in her neighbourhood. Every other resident was South Asian. As a result, the gangs discovered where she was living, and once again treated her house as if it was their own. The cycle of abuse continued, and Chloe’s emotional state deteriorated significantly. Chloe was taken to hospital after a suicide attempt, and, while there, she discovered that she was pregnant. The father of the child – a Pakistani Muslim illegal migrant – moved into 26

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Chloe’s home. Chloe was subsequently coerced into converting to Islam and forced into marriage, both to legitimise the pregnancy in the eyes of her abuser and to assist him in securing a visa. Chloe’s behaviour became tightly controlled. She was forced to wear a hijab, she was prohibited from looking out the windows of her home, and, if she misbehaved in the eyes of her “husband,” he would “beat her black and blue” – something that happened “every day.” Chloe’s child was born with multiple health problems, including a defective kidney, due to the deteriorated condition of Chloe’s womb as a result of the sexual abuse. Nevertheless, becoming a mother gave Chloe a renewed determination to get her life back on track. She reported the father of her child to the police after he assaulted the child, and he was removed from the property. She stopped taking drugs. She was “focused,” and, for the first time, the gangs left her alone. One evening, she went out with a friend who lived across the road. Chloe, now a mother, did not drink heavily, but her friend became heavily intoxicated. A group of Asian men started speaking to them, and offered to take Chloe and her friend home. Chloe was suspicious of them, but, for the sake of her friend, agreed. Instead of taking them home, however, they were taken to a hotel. Chloe, who was not drunk, protested, and encouraged her friend – who was “paralytic” – to leave with her. Chloe warned her friend about what she suspected was going to happen, but her friend refused to leave. Chloe, thinking of her daughter and seeking to protect herself, reluctantly left without her. The following day, Chloe’s friend told Chloe that she had been raped by the men. This incident represented a turning point in Chloe’s life. She decided that she needed to leave her home town for good and “get as far away from these Asian men as possible.” By chance, she reconnected on Facebook with a man she had known in her early childhood – an old colleague of her mother who she describes as “one of the only adult men in my life who never harmed me or treated me badly.” She told him about everything she had been through and her desire to leave. He lived in Scotland and she was invited to visit him for the weekend, which she did. 27

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After returning home, she sought support from Women’s Aid, who managed to secure her a property in Scotland. With nothing but her daughter and a small bag, she left her home town, leaving a lifetime of abuse and exploitation behind, and moved to Scotland, where she resides to this day. Chloe personally knows at least twenty other girls from her area who were predated on by the Muslim gangs who abused her. The pattern was always the same: grooming, drugging, trafficking, abuse, and rape. Furthermore, Chloe describes being taken into mosques where imams would describe non-Muslims as “infidels” and preach that white women who dressed “inappropriately” were “free game.” Chloe believes that the local police, social services, NHS, and government were all fully aware of what was happening, including the racialised nature of the crimes, but that they did not intervene for two reasons: because they “could not be bothered with the paperwork,” and because “they did not want to be seen as racist.” Chloe blames these bodies, and their “major push for diversity,” for her abuse. Chloe says that “if I can save just even one more child, girl or boy, from going through any of this, then I’ve done my job.” 28

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Fiona Fiona grew up in a highly abusive household marked by domestic violence, severe emotional abuse, and repeated suicide attempts by her mother, which Fiona witnessed. Despite exceptional academic ability, she developed serious mental health difficulties, self-harm behaviours, and suicidal ideation from a young age. After escalating abuse and failed disclosures, Fiona entered care at the age of 13. She was placed in a children’s home that had already been identified as high-risk for sexual exploitation in a television documentary prior to her arrival. Inadequate supervision meant she went missing repeatedly. At 13, she was groomed by adult Pakistani men, whom she estimates were aged between 24 and 45. The grooming began with affection and alcohol, quickly progressing to rape, drug dependency, threats, and trafficking. Care staff negligence was extreme. Abusers would sit in cars outside waiting for the girls, openly converse with staff, and even phone the home to inquire about them. One care worker told Fiona’s mother that her boss had described recording the men’s car registration plates as “above her pay grade,” warning that she would lose her job if she did so. Fiona believes the staff were aware of what was happening but felt powerless to stop it rather than being actively complicit. Nevertheless, the children’s home received £5,000 per week to care for her and failed miserably. Fiona suspects the management avoided proper investigation for fear of being labelled racist. Only the police took any formal action, issuing “harbouring notices” to the men – official warnings stating they had no permission to associate with, contact, or house a vulnerable child. However, no further action followed. When Fiona’s mother called the police to report her daughter missing and mentioned a history of abuse by Asian men, the call handler told her: “You can’t describe them as Asian men because that’s racist. You should just be glad your child is being taught a different culture.” On one occasion, a police officer returned Fiona to the house where the abuse was occurring and told the men to “have fun with her.” On another occasion, police instructed the abusers that if they could persuade Fiona to sign herself out of care, the police would stop bothering them. 30

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The gang then tried to convince her to do so, intending to traffic her to Kashmir. She was only prevented from leaving the country because she did not have a passport. Between 2008 and 2012, Fiona was repeatedly raped by multiple men connected to organised grooming networks. She was often kept in a house known as a “party house,” where between 10 and 20 men would attend at one time. On one occasion, she was encouraged to bring her friends because the owner had relatives visiting from Birmingham to celebrate Eid and “expected girls to be there.” Within the house, the girls were routinely referred to as “white slags,” while the men wanted Pakistani girls kept “pure” for marriage. The gangs reportedly discussed fears that the English Defence League (EDL) would arrive armed, so they kept baseball bats for protection. They also allegedly spoke of attending EDL demonstrations with weapons. Fiona was not only trafficked and raped across multiple cities in the UK but was also forced to traffic drugs. Drugs, intimidation, and violence were used to control her. She was made to clean up the knives from the scene of two fatal stabbings. She was present during a shootout. Her abusers bragged to her that they had hidden dead bodies in a certain location. A few days later, Fiona recalls the news reporting on a body being recovered from the same location that the abusers had disclosed to her. As a result, threats of violence carried enormous weight. At 14, Fiona was abused by a man known as ‘Rambo.’ He had entered Britain illegally in the back of a lorry. Previously castrated in Pakistan as punishment for child abuse, he had then fled to the Philippines, where he allegedly attacked multiple women and children with a large knife – the origin of his nickname. Rambo was locked in a room with two girls and subjected them to extreme sexual torture. This case illustrated that, in some instances, the sexual abuse of children was driven more by humiliation and control than by sexual gratification. At 15, Fiona became pregnant while in a mixed-sex care home. Her son was later 31

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removed and adopted due to the ongoing exploitation risks, yet Fiona herself was left in the same dangerous environment. The abuse continued into her adulthood. It only stopped when she turned 18, leaving her with profound physical and psychological trauma, including PTSD, substance dependency, and long-term health damage. Fiona states that the greatest harm came not only from the abusers but from institutional disbelief, neglect, and punishment that actively enabled the ongoing exploitation. In total, she estimates she was abused by between 50 and 100 men. Of those, only two were not Pakistani. 32

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‘ Michelle ’ ‘Michelle’ was physically abused in childhood by both her mother and stepfather. Her mother had multiple partners throughout Michelle’s childhood, many of whom also abused her – some sexually. She believes this early experience created an association between abuse and love, leaving her particularly vulnerable. From the age of 13, she was groomed by three adult Pakistani brothers who supplied her with alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs. She was raped while intoxicated, including one occasion when she was taken upstairs while her sister tried to intervene. Because of her upbringing, she thought this was normal – that they were her boyfriends and that they loved her. She would go missing for extended periods and was subjected to repeated daily sexual abuse. The perpetrators would collect her from school, her home, and public places, using threats of violence to coerce and control her. At age 14, she was gang-raped and beaten by three men who had locked her in a house. She was left covered in cuts and bruises, which alerted a friend. The friend told her own mother, who then contacted Michelle’s mother. The police were called, but they claimed there was little they could do without more evidence. One of the gang members later forced Michelle to go to the police station with him to retract her statement. The police accepted him as her “appropriate adult” – a role normally reserved for a parent, close family member, social worker, or trained professional. The investigation was subsequently dropped. One of Michelle’s friends, who lived in a care home, would be collected directly outside by the same gang. Care staff would call the police, but officers reportedly referred to the girls as “prostitutes” despite them being children. Both social services and the police, Michelle says, failed to understand the situation and believed the girls were engaging in the activity by choice. As a result, little was done to intervene. When she was abducted and went missing, no one came looking for her. A social worker once told her that, at age 14, she would be allowed to live with her 30-year-old “boyfriend” as long as they did not share a room. 34

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Michelle was raped in bin sheds, threatened with a knife, and forced into sex with multiple men waiting in cars. She was drugged, beaten, burned with cigarettes, locked in rooms, and passed between men. An amusement arcade was used as a front for drug dealing and the sexual exploitation of children. She became pregnant four times as a child as a result of rape, leading to miscarriages, one abortion, and one surviving child. Of her abusers, she states: “98% of them were Pakistani Muslim. If not, they were Iraqi Muslim or Kurdish.” Michelle believes these gangs have remained untouchable because authorities feared being labelled racist.She describes an extensive network of abusers operating across the entire country, calling it “industrial” in scale. It functions as a large central network with smaller connected groups in specific localities. Michelle claims she was raped by between six and seven hundred different men over the course of three years. She now lives with severe PTSD and lifelong trauma, describing both her childhood and her future as destroyed. 35

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‘ Whitne y’ ‘Whitney’ grew up in a vulnerable household. Her mother suffered from severe mental health issues, and her father was absent from her life. She was first groomed and sexually abused at the age of 15 by two adult Pakistani brothers. One of the brothers, Whitney recalls, acted as a boyfriend figure. Both brothers would regularly take her to a flat in Birmingham, supply her with alcohol, and in her words she would “have sex with them.” Their interactions with Whitney soon turned violent. They began beating her and, on one occasion, held a hot iron to her face. Whitney recalls that the brothers stopped contacting her after they arrived at her house to collect her and found all of her uncles sitting on the wall outside. After that incident, they never came back. She cannot remember exactly how or why her uncles were there, but she believes her mother had asked them to intervene. Many years later, Whitney’s daughter began self-harming at age eleven and even attempted suicide. Her phone contained sexually explicit messages. Whitney’s daughter told her there was a “sex room” at school run by the older boys. Deeply concerned for her daughter, Whitney contacted social services. They offered little support beyond talking through the problems. In one instance, social services accidentally sent her six other children’s case files instead of her daughter’s, which left her deeply distrustful of their ability to help. Whitney’s daughter was coerced into sending a sexual image, which was then circulated across multiple schools, the local community, and eventually the internet. This led to her receiving unwanted attention from adult men of various ethnicities and from multiple countries. From that point on, Whitney’s daughter began going missing regularly. These disappearances were directly linked to sexual demands and exploitation by older boys and adult men. She was threatened with violence if she contacted the police and sometimes returned home with items of clothing missing. Whitney repeatedly reported her concerns to the police and social services, clearly stating that she believed her 37

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daughter was being sexually exploited. Police responses were often delayed, statements were not taken, and investigations were closed without further action. Social services refused to relocate the family, downgraded the risk level, and eventually closed the case despite ongoing exploitation. Whitney herself was blamed, and her own past was used to undermine her credibility as a parent. Her family received repeated threats, including warnings that their house would be burned down, faces would be slashed, and machetes would be used. Later, Whitney discovered that her daughter had been placed on the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) as a trafficking victim – without her being informed. The NRM is the UK's official framework for identifying, referring, and supporting victims of human trafficking and modern slavery and serves as a recognition by a designated professional that an individual is a potential victim of human trafficking or modern slavery. 38

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‘ Sall y’ ‘Sally’ is the mother of a daughter who was found guilty of nine counts of perverting the course of justice for lying about being groomed by an Asian grooming gang and sentenced to eight years in prison. Despite this, Sally believes there is evidence to suggest her daughter was a genuine victim of the gangs. Sally described a previously stable, working family life until housing instability and family stress coincided with changes in her daughter’s behaviour. The house the family were buying fell through, but they had already moved out of their family home and all their possessions were in storage. A family friend was able to rent them a part-renovated property on a short-term basis, but it was not ideal for a family with four children. It was only meant to be temporary, but the family ended up staying there for ten months. Her daughter began making up stories, such as claiming her mother and stepdad were going away and leaving her to look after her five-year-old brother at school. This resulted in school involvement in their family life. The stresses the household was under led to arguments that brought in both the police and social services. After leaving school at 16, Sally’s daughter began working at a local pub. On one occasion she was invited to a party. Sally received a call later that evening from one of her daughter’s friends saying that her daughter was lying on the pavement outside the property. If Sally couldn’t pick her up, they were going to take her to the bus stop and leave her there, as she was making too much noise. When her mother found her lying on the ground, she was making a horrendous wailing sound and kept saying not to touch her. Her mother recognised that something was seriously wrong and took her to hospital. Sally’s daughter told the nurse carrying out the examination that she had been sexually assaulted. The hospital notes recorded that her genitalia were swollen and red. The hospital reported the incident to the police. Sally’s daughter then received threats via Snapchat, became scared about the outcome of the case, and withdrew from the process. Around the same time, social services closed their 40

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case on the family. Sally believes her daughter did not want to invite more trouble into the household. It later emerged in court that they had all been smoking cannabis. Sally believes her daughter had participated and that something had happened to her, but she was found guilty of lying about being raped. Sally’s daughter then began working as a kitchen assistant at a care home and a glass collector at a nightclub, in addition to her pub job. After turning 18, she was able to work behind the bar at the nightclub, where her behaviour began to change. She would return home with cuts and bruises. On one occasion she came back with a black eye and said there had been a fight in the nightclub and she had been hit accidentally. She appeared more tired and distressed than usual. Sally began to notice that her daughter’s phone would ring regularly, with “Asian” men’s names appearing on the screen. When asked about them, her daughter tried to hide the calls. The bar manager stopped her daughter from working on the main floor because she was small and they struggled to keep track of her. They also ensured she was always paired with an older member of staff, as the “Asian” men would harass her if she was working alone. One “Asian” man gifted her a gold chain. Sally’s daughter began saying she wanted to move away from home. She had regularly travelled to a nearby town by train. Sally would pick her up and drop her off at the station, and she never appeared to have been drinking or using drugs. One day, Sally returned home to find her daughter had left with her possessions and was ignoring her calls. She had told work colleagues that she had moved because her stepfather was harming her, but this was not true. After a few days of investigation, Sally managed to find where her daughter had moved to. When she arrived at the flat, she found her daughter with two police officers to whom she was reporting an allegation of rape. When her daughter handed in her phone as evidence, the police found hundreds of messages from “Asian” men. They believed she was being groomed. She was later found guilty of lying about the rape she had reported. 41

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Over the course of the following year, Sally reported her daughter missing thirty-nine times. She would often turn up in various towns across the region, battered, bruised, intoxicated or on drugs. She was usually without underwear and spent increasing amounts of time in hospital. One police force made a referral to the NRM, believing she was a victim of trafficking. Another police force repeatedly arrested her and seized her phone, which meant the referral agency could not contact her as her number kept changing. One incident involved Sally’s daughter being locked in a room above an Indian restaurant, with the man refusing to let her leave. The police ignored it, believing she was lying. Another incident involved an “Asian” man following her, trying to grab her and take her away. Thankfully she was with her sister and friends, who quickly put her in a taxi and sent her home. That same man was later arrested for breaking into a woman’s house and sexually assaulting her while she slept – nevertheless, the police still insisted Sally’s daughter had been lying about the earlier incident. The police believed she had a mental health condition and was deliberately self-harming and putting herself in dangerous situations. They wanted to have her sectioned, but a doctor disagreed, noting that she still had capacity. Another incident involved a different “Asian” man who refused to leave Sally’s daughter’s flat. Police told him to leave but asked no questions. He left behind a balaclava, yet the police showed no interest despite him carrying it while visiting a young woman. After her flat door was kicked down in yet another incident while she was missing, she returned to her mother’s home. Sally’s daughter later explained that she had moved away to keep her family safe. She claimed she had been told that if she did not do as her abusers said, they would harm her brother, rape her sister, and firebomb the house. She had lied to her colleagues about her stepdad to avoid bringing repercussions on the family. She went missing again. The police stated they believed she was making the whole thing up and injuring herself, so they charged her with perverting the course of justice. Part of her bail conditions required her not to leave Sally’s 42

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house. The following week, her daughter attempted suicide by overdose. She went missing one final time and was found in a field with injuries to her head and ear, a severed finger, and numerous cuts and bruises. Following this, she wrote a post on Facebook alleging that she had been a victim of grooming gangs. The post went viral. Within half an hour, the police arrested her and she was sent to prison. Following her daughter’s conviction, the family experienced sustained harassment and intimidation, particularly from one Muslim man. Sally reports repeated failures by the police to protect them. She believes her daughter was a vulnerable young woman who lied at times but was nevertheless groomed. 43

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Marlon Marlon is the father of a daughter who was a repeated victim of grooming as well as being repeatedly failed by authorities. Marlon reported his 14-year-old daughter Scarlett missing a number of times because she was being groomed and exploited. The police informed social services that what Marlon was doing was appropriate as he was acting to safeguard his daughter. However, social services did not accept the police’s assessment and instead dragged out the investigation for three months. During that time his daughter disclosed concerns to her school, which resulted in social services attending Marlon’s home. While his daughter was present they told him that if he tried to stop her from leaving the house she should call social services or the police. Social services undermining his parental authority resulted in her missing episodes escalating dramatically. Social services effectively gave her permission to go missing, and the case was then closed without meaningful intervention. Marlon placed a formal complaint to social services stating that he was struggling to cope with his daughter's missing episodes. The social worker assigned to him following this openly stated to him that they were only taking the case because of his complaint. This made him feel like the problem rather than a parent concerned with safeguarding his daughter from abuse. On one occasion Marlon stood in front of the door to prevent his daughter from leaving late at night resulting in her repeatedly kicking him and breaking three of his fingers. He reported this to social services who simply stated he should walk away when she becomes violent. Even after showing them the bruises on his back that he received as he walked away they did not change the advice they gave. Marlon remains convinced that if his child were male and he were female the response would have been different. Marlon would often spend his evenings driving in search of his daughter until three or four am while having work the following day, which his employer was not supportive of. He often reported her missing to the police, who would sometimes turn up to his house many hours later. On one occasion he saw 44

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footage of the police saying not to bother even waking him. This made him feel more like a problem rather than it being the safeguarding emergency that it was. Scarlett was unlawfully excluded from school due to grooming-related behaviour and assigned a new school where the grooming gang operated. A multi-agency risk management meeting was eventually convened with children’s services and the police’s Missing from Home team. While the meeting was ongoing one of the police officers in attendance told Marlon to stop reporting his daughter missing. Marlon challenged this which resulted in the police officer shouting at him in front of all in attendance. The officer has since been dismissed. The social worker and manager present did not intervene but privately acknowledged he was right to continue to report his daughter missing. They refused to launch a formal complaint against the officer. Shortly after this his daughter went missing for several days and was eventually found at Marlon’s mother’s house, unkempt, distressed and stating that she had been raped. Care staff returned her to the location of the rape, thereby destroying forensic opportunities, and failed to report it to police until days later. Marlon had to make his own referral to the rape crisis centre, by which time forensic evidence was lost. The perpetrator was arrested but bailed with the condition not to contact Marlon’s daughter. Immediately upon leaving the station he called her and threatened her life. He was an adult and drug dealer and his associates soon began attending Marlon’s home. His daughter was terrified of them. An older woman began to groom and manipulate Marlon’s daughter under the guise of friendship. After another missing episode Marlon was able to trace his daughter to a specific property. Despite repeated calls and reports of men entering the property both police and social services failed to remove her or issue an abduction warning notice. His daughter was later found to be the victim of criminal exploitation, including drug supply, prostitution and being forced to dig up a firearm. These acts were directed by the older woman amongst others. At this point the impact on Marlon was catastrophic. He was physically 45

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exhausted, anxious, depressed and lived in constant fear. He was attacked by masked individuals in his home with the police response delayed and dismissive. Marlon’s daughter was eventually taken into secure care where she was subjected to further abuse, including sexual abuse by staff and other children, neglect, and safeguarding failures. Marlon made multiple complaints. At a court hearing, social services attempted to place his daughter on a child protection plan for emotional abuse and neglect by Marlon himself. However, the judge intervened and ordered this to be amended to be recorded as beyond parental control. Marlon’s daughter continued to be moved between unsuitable placements. She was groomed repeatedly, trafficked, forced into drug supply, and raped by adult men. She became pregnant as a result of rape. The handling of her termination by professionals was traumatic and negligent. Police later charged Scarlett with intent to supply Class A drugs, despite her being a victim of trafficking and on the National Referral Mechanism. Scarlett was placed in a unit run entirely by male Muslim staff where she was groomed again. Racist abuse and extremist comments were made to her. Marlon again raised concerns which were ignored. Despite his repeated attempts to help his daughter, he has experienced many instances of violence from her as a result of the trauma and grooming. He has experienced many assaults, received black eyes and had to sleep barricaded in his room. He repeatedly requested domestic abuse support but was refused because he was a male parent. He has been forced to complete parenting courses and blamed for his daughter’s abuse. The whole experience has harmed Marlon financially, emotionally and psychologically. He states it has destroyed his life. He is no longer the person he used to be. Marlon’s case highlights that parents can also be victims of both grooming networks as well as widespread institutional failure. If you would like to hear Marlon’s story in greater detail, he has recently published a book about his experiences titled In Plain Sight (2026) . 46

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‘ Wallace ’ ‘Wallace’s’ early childhood in Scotland was marked by poverty, instability and a lack of consistent adult protection. His mother suffered from mental health and substance misuse problems. She struggled to comprehend the situations she put her son in and often failed to intervene, which allowed Wallace’s abuse to continue. Wallace’s mother psychologically and emotionally abused him throughout his childhood. From a young age, adult men moved in and out of his life, and he was encouraged to refer to them as “dad” or “uncle.” This made it seem normal that adult men would be around him as a child. He was moved around many different home environments and learned to accept situations without question. His early experiences made him believe that adults could enter his personal space without consent, that fear should be tolerated, and that he had no control. Wallace’s earliest memory of abuse occurred when he was four or five years old, when an adult came into his bedroom at night and got into bed with him. He could not identify who it was but instinctively knew it was wrong. His main abusers were his mother’s partner and the partner’s brother, who both exercised authority over Wallace and were treated as trusted adults. They were connected to a biker group in the area. Not all members of the group were involved in the abuse, but a core group of men were. Wallace recalls being taken to a particular house where multiple men were present. It had a dark atmosphere, lit by candles, possibly snake-shaped candle holders placed near the fireplace. The setting felt deliberate and staged. Multiple adults were sitting around watching him, which instinctively made him feel unsafe. He was led into a bedroom, restrained and raped by an adult. His mother’s partner’s brother spoke to him as if what had just happened was normal, despite the considerable pain and emotional distress he felt. Wallace asked if he would receive a toy for what had happened. He did receive one, but it was cheap and insignificant. Even then he realised that there was no real compensation for what had happened to him. The same pattern of abuse occurred on multiple occasions. 48

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Wallace recalls seeing other boys and girls present who were usually restrained and drugged. He also recalls being drugged himself and losing consciousness. He would often wake alone or with other abused children, disoriented and distressed. This has caused long-term psychological damage. At one point the police raided the property. They took Wallace outside and showed him adults one by one, asking if he recognised them. He had been coached to say these men were his “uncles,” and that is what he said. He associated authority figures with fear and wanted to avoid saying what he believed might be the wrong thing. As a result, the police intervention did not protect him. No safeguarding followed and he returned to the abusive environment. The signs of abuse were there and only reinforced Wallace’s view that speaking out would not lead to safety. As an adult he eventually attempted to report what had happened to him, a disclosure which took years. He expected to be treated as a victim of serious childhood sexual abuse, but instead his disclosure was treated as a mental health issue. He was asked to provide psychiatric and medical notes before any proper investigation would take place. The lack of seriousness from the authorities resulted in Wallace’s statements being recorded improperly. Due to this experience he made complaints to the police, to professional bodies including the General Medical Council, and to other oversight organisations. Each process was slow, fragmented and obstructive and continued for years without resolution. During this time he was forced to relive his experiences repeatedly while being met with scepticism. At no point was his well-being considered, which further compounded his trauma as he once again felt dismissed, disbelieved and unprotected. Owing to Wallace’s abuse he has experienced long-term psychological harm. This harm has affected his education, relationships, sense of self-worth and his ability to feel safe. He wishes for his abusers and the authorities who failed to act to be held to account, and for his story to help protect other children from similar 49

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harm. 50

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Sebastian Sebastian was raised in Scotland in a stable household. Sebastian’s mother held down a professional job, owned her own home and car, and the family regularly went on holidays together. Despite this relatively secure background, which was not typical of abuse victims, Sebastian was raped and abused from the age of six by family members – without Sebastian’s mother’s knowledge. These family members instilled in Sebastian the belief that, to be safe, you had to give them what they wanted. This led Sebastian to develop a transactional view of interpersonal relationships. At age eleven, Sebastian was introduced by these abusive family members to a local café owner. The owner gave Sebastian free food, lifts in his car, and free cinema tickets to build trust and a sense of obligation. From there, they began prostituting Sebastian out to a number of people. These included seemingly respectable professionals such as estate agents, solicitors, care support workers for children, and even police officers. Even at boarding school, Sebastian was raped, assaulted, and groomed by staff and connected adults, with Sebastian’s injuries often ignored by medical professionals. All of Sebastian’s abusers were White British. In adulthood and during the final years of the abuse, Sebastian became aware of the wider operation of the grooming networks, both in a quiet rural area and in the city. At the age of 40, Sebastian was finally able to escape a cycle of abuse that had lasted for nearly four decades. Following years of abuse, Sebastian, born a biological female, transitioned to the opposite sex and now identifies as a trans man. Sebastian transitioned socially at 41 and medically at 48. However, when describing the abuse experienced as a child, it remains important for Sebastian to recognise that these events occurred while living as a girl and perceived as such. Sebastian acknowledges that this transition was, at least in part, a consequence of the abuse experienced, and feels safer from further abuse when presenting as a man. Sebastian recognises the profound impact trauma can have on a person’s life and believes that different people find different ways to cope. For some, that may mean choosing a particular career or relationship or making unhealthy 51

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choices by using substances or alcohol; for Sebastian, transition and finding peace in being “Seb” became the pathway to recovery. Sebastian describes healing from trauma as a form of transformation. For Sebastian, that transformation has involved a change of personal identity and finding a sense of safety never known while living as a female. Sebastian understands that others may not fully understand the paths people take to cope with trauma, but hopes that at the very least, they will try to understand. Sebastian now advocates for other survivors, with the aim of protecting vulnerable people and helping to develop local measures to prevent child abuse. 52

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‘ Anna ’ Anna was raised in a stable, middle-class household with both parents present. She first experienced abuse at the age of 13 by a perpetrator who was almost 18, whom she met through friends. He began their interactions with what is known as “love-bombing”: he complimented her, messaged her regularly, offered to buy her gifts and alcohol, requested photographs of her, and discussed meeting up. They arranged to meet at a local bus stop and go into town. At the last minute, he changed the plan and asked Anna to meet him at the end of a path in a nearby woodland. Upon arrival, his demeanour was cold and aggressive. He demanded that Anna perform oral sex on him and threatened to tell people she knew that she had sent him explicit photographs and that they had already had sex. Feeling threatened and fearful, she complied. Unbeknownst to Anna, he had covertly recorded the incident. A few days later, multiple men added her on Snapchat and began mocking and taunting her. The perpetrator himself sent Anna the video, laughed, and told her he had shared it with his “boys and brothers,” leaving her feeling humiliated, fearful, and traumatised.Anna reported the assault to the police, but despite explaining the coercion and threats, the case was closed with no investigation into the creation or distribution of child sexual abuse material. Rumours spread rapidly among Anna’s peers, and she was mocked and insulted in public. A year later, Anna encountered three Muslim brothers through a friend who was already being groomed and abused by them. They supplied her with alcohol and cigarettes in a public park and waited until she was heavily intoxicated before they began assaulting her. One of the brothers pulled her behind a tree and groped her chest despite her repeated refusals. When she tried to flee, he pushed her violently against the tree, causing her to hit her head and suffer a concussion. The grooming continued through threats to her family, intimidation, verbal abuse, and cycles of affection, gifts, and coercion. Anna did not feel safe reporting the abuse to the police. On another occasion, she was again supplied with alcohol. One of the brothers grabbed her body violently, dug his fingernails 53

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into her, and yanked at her underwear repeatedly while laughing. Anna cried silently, feeling powerless to stop the assault. Afterwards, she tried to cut contact, but one of the brothers located her and banged on the door shouting while she hid inside until he left. Out of fear, she complied with further demands to meet the brothers, resulting in more assaults. There was a period of nearly four years before any trial was held, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The perpetrators used this time to spread rumours portraying the abuse as consensual and to boast about the assaults. In the courtroom, the abuse and intimidation continued: they pulled faces, pointed and laughed at her, and made rude remarks about her appearance. This behaviour was not addressed by the court. One of the brothers was convicted of sexual assault and, as he was taken into custody, shouted “Allahu Akbar.” At the sentencing, the brother’s sister shouted abuse at Anna, threatened her, and later breached her anonymity online. She blamed the jury, stating they were “all white.” She was eventually arrested and charged with malicious communications. Anna states there is a broader failure to confront the role of ethnicity, religion, and cultural dynamics in organised sexual exploitation due to fear of accusations of racism. 54

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‘ Ta y lor ’ ‘Taylor’ was introduced at the age of twelve to older men through her friends, many of whom were adult Muslim men. They began by giving her lifts home from school, sometimes in black cabs and sometimes in their own cars. Taylor saw the men buying gifts for her friends and initially wished she could receive gifts too. On one occasion, instead of being taken to school, she was driven to one of the men’s sister’s houses and taught how to cook “Asian food.” Her friends spent more time with the men, but because her parents expected her to come straight home after school, she had limited contact with them beyond the lifts. She notes that her friends were already doing adult things such as smoking, drinking, and going to clubs, whereas she still had a more child-like disposition. This dynamic continued for three years until she turned 15, when the abuse began. She started going with her friends to a restaurant run by Muslim men to help with deliveries. This escalated when one of the men who worked there – a 35-year-old Bangladeshi man – kissed her, causing her to run away. The same man later raped her when she was 15. Because her friends were also being abused, Taylor believed it was normal and that the man was her boyfriend. However, when she walked in on him with one of her friends, she realised this was not the case. After this, her behaviour changed dramatically: she began skipping school and drinking heavily. During a family incident that led to police being called, Taylor’s father mentioned his suspicions that she was being abused by Asian men. The police responded that there was nothing they could do because she had “consented.” Police were called on multiple occasions regarding the abuse of Taylor and her friends, but they consistently refused to take action. The only time they helped her was when a group of “Asian” girls called the police; officers then returned Taylor and her friend home. Taylor believes they only intervened on that occasion because they did not want to face accusations of racism, given that the call came from “Asian” women. 56

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By the age of 16, she had been introduced to many more men and was constantly harassed by them over the phone. Some men would initially appear kind and caring, leading her to believe they were in a relationship, only to lure her into situations where she would be gang-raped. They used a combination of false kindness, violent abuse, and alcohol to coerce and control her. Cars would stop in the street and demand she get in. She would be raped and then taken to the next abuser. She claims that on some nights she was passed to as many as ten different men, and estimates she was abused by around 100 men in total. One common tactic used by the gangs was to send taxis to pick up drunk girls late at night. The driver would pretend to stop at a shop for a drink, then drive off, leaving the girl behind. A group of men would then “rescue” her, only to take her to a pre-arranged house for gang rape. A number of women also played a role in directing girls to their abusers in exchange for gifts and money. These women would trap the girls in properties or use violence to coerce them. Taylor has witnessed shootings, had knives held to her throat, and a gun held to her head. The gangs used the death of one of the other girls as leverage, threatening that anyone who spoke out would be next. Realising she had to escape the abuse, Taylor made a detailed twenty-page statement to the police. She provided the phone numbers of more than one hundred “Asian” men and showed them messages in which the men threatened to rape her mother, beat her father, and burn down the family home. No investigation followed. Both her teachers at school and her GP were aware that something was seriously wrong but did not pursue their suspicions further. 57

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‘ Marie ’ ‘Marie’ was born in a maternity home for unmarried mothers and grew up with her mother and grandmother. Her mother was cruel and abusive. She would deliberately make Marie cry, touch her inappropriately and behave violently. She would go into school with split lips, black eyes, bruising and marks over her body. She was never asked what had happened. She was not allowed to go outside, have friends and was regularly called degrading names. Viewing her medical record as an adult, there were documented concerns from around a year old. There were notes of a rash “down below” with question marks recorded. There were further entries where it was described as a possible nappy rash, again with question marks. Seven years later a doctor made a note that she was a child that should be “kept an eye on.” Her mother refused to discuss her situation with Marie in the room. The record showed that she had significant bowel and gynaecological problems. Despite the signs of abuse, no safeguarding action was taken. From around the age of seven Marie’s mother’s partner began grooming and sexually abusing her. He would bring her presents and then touch her inappropriately. Marie said to him what he was doing was “bad” and she did not like it. He told her that her mother had told him it was allowed. Her mother would ask “Marie” how she got on with him, demand she had thanked him “properly” and would threaten to get angry if not. She was complicit and the abuse continued for many years. Her mother would deliberately shame her. When Marie began to menstruate she thought she was dying but her mother told her periods were what “dirty girls” had. She deliberately gave her sanitary pads that would leak so she could shame and punish her. If she had a spot on her face she would put a large blob of Germolene on her face and tell her not to remove it otherwise people would not know she was “dirty.” When she was unwell her mother would get her partner to rub Vapour Rub on her chest. Her mother would soak her underwear in bleach and make her wear it, which still causes Marie discomfort to this day. In one instance her mother and her partner forced a bottle inside her which was painful. Her mother would attach clothes pegs on her clitoris to see how long 59

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Marie could last. Marie’s mother also groomed her for others and she had to share a bed with her. Marie was taken to another man’s house by her mother’s partner where she was raped. He began to traffic her to other perpetrators he knew through his work that operated like an organised group or gang. She became pregnant as a product of her abuse. On two occasions her mother took her to a woman’s house. There the woman used a knitting needle to perform the abortions. The woman’s husband also raped her. She had bottle tops opened up inside of her vagina, then made to drink what was in the bottle when she was primary school age. There were instances where she ran into members of her grooming network who would lure her to a secluded location and rape her. The abuse she experienced included extreme sexual violence and degradation. She was raped repeatedly over the years, including anal rape. She was subjected to penetration with objects. She was urinated on. Her legs were held open. She was bitten on the back, cut on the leg and strangled. She has lasting injuries. Marie attempted to end her own life at school by walking in front of a van. At college she drank a bottle of vodka and took a box of tablets in an attempt to kill herself. The college counsellor raised concerns and contacted her GP but nothing was done. Between leaving school and joining college, at seventeen, she was groomed by a 55-year-old police sergeant. He knew her background and claimed that he would catch her attacker and get justice for her. Instead, one evening he offered to take her out of the house and raped her. He went on to rape her on another occasion. Upon becoming an adult she went to a Women’s Aid refuge for safety. They moved her to a safe location. On one occasion her mother and partner went to the Women’s Aid office, but they refused to give them information and introduced additional measures to protect Marie. While in the safe house she miscarried, a product of her mother’s partner. Following this Marie drunkenly called her mother and told her what had happened. Even after explaining who impregnated her, her mother said “We would have loved a baby in the house.” 60

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She went to the police in recent years and told them that she was a survivor of child sexual abuse and they told her to go away and “sort her head out.” None of the perpetrators have been brought to justice. 61

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‘ Jane ’ ‘Jane’ grew up in a fractured household. Rarely present, her mother was addicted to drugs and alcohol, regularly using hash and cocaine during Jane’s childhood. She tried to end her own life on multiple occasions, and left altogether when Jane was seven. Jane’s father had significant mental health issues, though until the age of five she describes a generally positive relationship with him. However, after meeting a new partner following the departure of Jane’s mother, he became colder, more distant, and increasingly abusive. He used his hands, a slipper, and a cane to hit Jane. Jane’s mother re-entered her life with a new boyfriend when Jane was 13. The boyfriend was abusive towards Jane’s mother, and on one occasion raped her in front of Jane. It was around this time that Jane’s mother’s drug dealer began grooming her via Facebook. He had become aware of the fact that Jane was self-harming, and presented himself as a sympathetic and supportive friend. Jane, vulnerable at the time, exchanged messages with him for several months. Eventually, the drug dealer began asking Jane whether she had ever smoked cigarettes, taken drugs, or had sex. During one half term, he asked to meet with her. She agreed, and he came to Jane’s father’s house while Jane’s father was at work, armed with a kosh. He took her up to her bedroom and told her to strip naked. He said “you may be 13, but you’ve got the body of a woman” and raped her before promptly leaving. From then, the drug dealer regularly called Jane and waited outside her school for her. Jane would hide in the staff room and tell teachers that she did not want to leave as she knew he would be waiting for her. The staff did not intervene and would force her to leave the school. The drug dealer regularly took Jane to his girlfriend’s house where he would give Jane valium and cannabis. He would also show her the drugs he took, including 62

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heroin, methadone, and crack cocaine. The drug dealer sexually abused Jane “every day apart from the weekends” for several months. Jane was misdiagnosed with a personality disorder at this time. She did not tell anyone about her relationship with the drug dealer until one night during an argument with her mother, who was drunk. Her mother said “I don’t know why you are like this” and Jane replied “because I am being fucked by a 50-year-old man and nobody has noticed.” The following day, Jane returned from school to the police at her house. The police insisted that Jane, still just 13, would need to testify in court alone against the drug dealer. Intimidated, she did not wish to face him, and he was not prosecuted. Following the revelation of Jane’s grooming and rape by the drug dealer, Jane’s father called her a “whore” and told her that he “wished she would just hurry up and kill herself.” The school accused Jane of using self-harm to manipulate her father. She was regularly placed in detention and threatened with expulsion due to falling behind with schoolwork. As a result, Jane became increasingly disobedient and suicidal. At the age of 14, Jane began running away from school, taking drugs, and spending time with men older than her. On one occasion, she took an ‘overdose’ before school in an attempt to end her life . She was taken to hospital after the staff told her she would have done it in the woods or somewhere private if she actually wanted to die. Her father then came to the hospital and told her to “try harder next time as she was wasting everyone’s time. Later that day, she attempted suicide by cutting her own throat, but failed. Jane was briefly taken into care at the hospital. She was discharged after less than a month, and “everybody acted like nothing had happened.” Her father would not accept her back into the family home, so she was left homeless. Jane spent a short period of time staying with friends, until social services was informed about her situation by her aunt. Jane refused to return home, disclosing to social services that she was being physically abused and showed 63

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