MODERN SLAVERY - Victim of sexual exploitation

Serena from Gambia

When her family arranged for her to marry a man living in the UK, she hoped to find a better life. Instead she found rape and abuse.

She was only 15 when she arrived and was met by her new ‘husband ‘at the airport. She was disappointed to see that he was much older than herself. On their first night together, he forced himself on her and from that point on she was raped on a daily basis. It soon became clear that this was not the marriage that her parents or she had hoped for.

Her trafficker kept Serena prisoner in the flat. Groups of men and women would arrive, money would exchange hands and she would be forced to have sex with them. She was drugged to ensure she didn’t fight back and beaten if she disobeyed or closed her eyes as she suffered. One time she woke up to find herself chained to the bed and being gang raped.

Serena’s living conditions were woeful – she was often locked in a room with no heating, no light and little food. She was eventually taken to different locations in Birmingham and Manchester. She would be driven to isolated buildings, where her suffering continued. She and other young girls would be sexually exploited, often made to dress up and pose for sexual photographs.

After a number of years, she eventually found the courage and opportunity to escape. She found help through the National Referral Mechanism, where The Salvation Army arranged care for her at a safe house run by Hestia, where she stayed for six months. Since then she has lived with friends. She was granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK. Various charities have helped her work through her trauma and find accommodation.

Source: https://modernslavery.co.uk/who.html