Britain’s Forgotten Girls is a harrowing new BBC documentary shining a light on organised drug gangs that are grooming, trafficking and sexually exploiting vulnerable girls.
The programme asks why this horrific abuse has continued across the UK for more than 20 years.
Among the women sharing their experiences is Christine, who reveals the abuse she suffered, her involvement in drug couriering and her encounters with police and social services.
Christine has bravely waived her right to anonymity and tells the documentary how older men began exploiting her when she was just 13.
Her account makes for deeply uncomfortable viewing.
BBC documentary Britain’s Forgotten Girls lifts lid on exploitation
Christine is now an adult, but in Britain’s Forgotten Girls she recalls how her ordeal began after moving from London to Coventry.
“Looking back, I think the move threw me off a lot”, she says. “In school everybody already had their friendship groups because of how late I’d moved in.
“So, within school, I didn’t really feel like I had friends.”
She was then targeted by an abuser who was lurking in an online group chat. Christine agreed to meet him, but was stunned when she saw who had turned up.
“I remember him walking through the doors…when he walked through the door, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s a grown man’. I was 13 and he was 23,” she says.
Things took an even darker turn on Christine’s 14th birthday. The man persuaded her to sleep with his friends to “help him out”. They were all part of his drugs gang.
Christine felt frightened and unable to refuse. What happened then became a regular occurrence.
“I felt disgusting. Some were his friends, some were his age, some looked older. I don’t know who they were,” she reveals.
She endured eight years of abuse and was also frequently physically attacked. During one incident, she suffered broken ribs.
Christine’s documentary claims about the police
Christine also recalls speaking to police on multiple occasions while remaining in contact with social workers. She says she told them about the sexual exploitation she was experiencing.
“I sat for hours and hours in interviews… but the moment I told them about the drugs and the houses, everything shifted,” she said.
According to Christine, officers appeared more interested in the gang’s drug offences than the abuse she had suffered.
The documentary also features other survivors, including a woman called Violet, who shares her own horrific account of sexual abuse by members of drug gangs.
Connie Muttock, Director of Policy and Public Affairs for the children’s charity Centre for Young Lives, tells viewers: “The abuse and exploitation of girls in drug gangs is a widespread UK-wide issue.
“This isn’t about a particular city or area, particular demographic groups. As long as we’ve had drug gangs in this country, we have had girls being abused and coerced within them. What’s even more shocking is that this has been going on for years.”
When is Britain’s Forgotten Girls on?
Britain’s Forgotten Girls airs on BBC Two tonight (Wednesday September 9, 2026). The documentary starts at 9pm and runs for an hour, with viewers also able to watch on BBC iPlayer.
This will undoubtedly be a difficult watch, but it is also an incredibly important one.
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