I was trafficked aged 11 then drugged, tortured and raped by 1,500 men – only an inquiry will get justice for us victims
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EMILY VAUGHN was a victim of rape gangs and endured the most unspeakable abuse at the hands of countless perpetrators. Between the ages of 14 and 20 she was abused, raped and tortured by more than 1,500 men, mostly of Pakistani origin. None of them has ever been arrested or served time for their despicable crimes.
![[Teenage girl sitting by a window, head in hands.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/c0487398-27f2-429b-92de-04d9d200d343.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Today, Emily is calling for a national inquiry into the gangs that operated in practically every large town and city across the UK. She was trafficked from her home in Wales to various locations, including Telford in Shropshire, and was interviewed for the 2018 inquiry into the abuse in that town.
![[Photo of Lucy Lowe, a 16-year-old girl who died in a house fire.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/undated-collect-photo-lucy-lowe-391422859.jpg?strip=all&w=747)
It concluded that the crimes had been ignored for decades by the authorities, and estimated that well over 1,000 girls had been abused. Emily, now 35, feels that when she spoke to researchers, they neither listened to her nor took her evidence seriously.
![[Photo of Sarah Lowe, a teenage girl.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2000-treating-blaze-suspicious-appealing-32126.jpg?strip=all&w=734)
She says: “Some might be quick to label those calling for an inquiry into grooming gangs as aligning with the Far Right. That’s ignoring the victims. It’s essential to focus on the issue at hand. “I was a victim of trafficking, but my interviews with the researchers were rushed and I don’t think I was even seen by a social worker. All I got was six sessions of NHS counselling.
![[Mugshot of Azhar Ali Mehmood, convicted of three counts of murder and one of attempted murder.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2001-three-counts-murder-one-962850746.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
“I don’t get access to a safe house if I need one because it’s the local authority’s duty to help me — the same local authority that failed me. The whole system is a mess and needs an urgent review.”. Emily was a carefree, happy child, growing up with loving parents in rural Wales.
![[Mugshots of the Huddersfield Grooming Gang.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/huudersfield-grooming-gang-962598493.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
