(Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab):...I also welcome the
debate brought by my hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall
().
Vulnerable young people are coerced into county lines and gangs
on a daily basis, attracted by the draw of money and a route out
of poverty and deprivation. County lines offenders use sexual
exploitation to recruit vulnerable women to their gangs, with
male gang members grooming vulnerable women through sexual
relationships. The National Crime Agency says
that women may not acknowledge that they are victims due to the
nature of their grooming—they will often believe that they are in
relationships—and those exploited are subjected to sexual
violence control as part of county lines offending...
(Enfield, Southgate) (Lab):...The National Crime
Agency believes that girls are under-represented in its
data both as offenders and as victims of exploitation. A clear
picture is not available, as there are intelligence gaps, but it
is well known by the police and service providers that girls are
used for county lines operations as they are less likely to get
caught. That issue was highlighted by my hon. Friend the Member
for Liverpool, Riverside () in describing her experience of what is happening in
Liverpool. My hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall referred to the
example of young women being coerced into dressing as emergency
workers to escape detection when carrying drugs through the
national lockdown earlier this year. That shows the seriousness
of the situation.
The NCA gives details of sexual violence being
used to control those who are exploited, and of children and
females being offered between county lines offenders for sexual
activity. The UN Secretary-General António Guterres said:
“Sexual violence against women and girls is rooted in centuries
of male domination. Let us not forget that the gender
inequalities that fuel rape culture are essentially a question of
power imbalances.”
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