Introduction
Prey: Inside Today’s Grooming Gangs is a hard-hitting Sky News documentary that refuses to let the UK look away. The documentary premired on December 5, 2025, the investigation is presented by survivor Scarlett West, whose voice anchors the film with clarity and courage. Rather than treating grooming gangs as a closed chapter, Prey makes a clear case that exploitation networks are still operating today, often in plain sight while institutions tasked with protecting children continue to fall short.
A Survivor-Led Story That Reclaims the Narrative
What sets Prey apart is who leads it. Scarlett West is not spoken about, she speaks for herself. The documentary follows her journey from early adolescence into young adulthood, tracing how vulnerability, manipulation, and coercion intersected with repeated institutional failures. Another survivor, Zara, shares how online spaces became entry points for exploitation. Their testimonies are measured, reflective, and deeply human, reclaiming stories that are too often debated without the voices of those who lived them.
Systemic Failure, Repeated and Normalised
A central thread running through the film is the persistent failure of systems meant to safeguard children. Police responses, social services interventions, and political leadership are examined with uncomfortable honesty. Survivors describe being dismissed, misunderstood, or blamed, responses that allowed abuse to continue unchecked.
Grooming Has Changed But The Threat Hasn’t
The documentary also exposes how tactics have evolved. Where grooming once relied heavily on physical locations and tightly organised groups, predators now exploit digital platforms to reach large numbers of children quickly. Social media features prominently, not as a neutral backdrop but as a tool that can amplify harm when safeguards fail. The message is clear: the landscape has shifted, but the danger remains and adaptation has often outpaced accountability.
Trauma, Control, and the Long Road Out
Prey handles trauma with care. It avoids sensationalism and instead focuses on the lasting impact of exploitation, fear, disorientation, loss of trust, and the struggle to feel safe again. Scarlett’s eventual escape is presented not as a neat resolution but as the beginning of recovery, complicated by the absence of justice. Evidence exists, yet accountability remains elusive, underscoring how rare convictions still are in cases like hers. The documentary insists that awareness without action is not enough and that silence, denial, or delay only benefits abusers.
Conclusion
The documentary is not an easy watch, nor is it meant to be. It is a necessary one. Through survivor-led storytelling and rigorous investigation by Sky News, the documentary confronts the uncomfortable truth that grooming gangs are not a historical problem but a present-day reality. Its power lies in refusing to look away and in challenging viewers, institutions, and leaders alike to finally listen, learn, and act.
Watch the Full Story:
“Prey: Inside Today’s Grooming Gangs” (Sky News Documentary) on YouTube.
