In many people’s minds, there is a clear distinction between women who are abused or trafficked for sex, and those who enter prostitution as a form of work. The convictions of ruthless men who raped and trafficked vulnerable local girls in Newcastle, Rotherham, Rochdale, Oxford and Telford highlight the young women’s victimhood and signify the need for greater vigilance in child safeguarding.

Women trafficked from overseas, lured into the UK on promises of paid employment, then violated, beaten, trapped in sex slavery, with passports confiscated, are clearly defenceless victims.