Report Warns of Continued Denial in Child Exploitation Cases

The team behind a significant report on child rape and grooming gangs in the UK has raised concerns about the persistent denial surrounding the influence of ethnicity and religion in the ongoing exploitation of mainly young, working-class white girls by predominantly Pakistani Muslim men.

Not long ago, the notion that Pakistani Muslims are disproportionately involved in the sexual exploitation of girls in the UK was dismissed by some as a conspiracy. However, a review led by Baroness Louise Casey last year compelled the left-leaning Labour government to initiate a national inquiry, acknowledging clear evidence that most gang child rapists are of Asian and Pakistani descent.

Speaking at the Hay Festival in Wales, Dame Casey expressed her disappointment over the lack of progress since her initial involvement in 2015. At that time, she conducted an inquiry into the Labour-run council in Rotherham, a notorious grooming hotspot. According to her, political correctness continues to obstruct justice and protection for victims.

“I was very disappointed, to say the least, that not enough had changed in the intervening decade since Rotherham,” she remarked, highlighting ongoing issues since her initial report, as noted by Daily Mail.

“Victims were still not believed, and the proper evidence wasn’t being gathered. There remains a reluctance to scrutinize the religion and ethnicity of those responsible,” she added.

Feeling a sense of personal responsibility, she stated, “There was a sense of denial, and I felt that I had let the victims down… it would never, ever happen again.”

Various governments, including the previous Conservative administration, have attempted to downplay the racial and religious dimensions of the widespread rape and abuse occurring across the country. Nonetheless, victims have consistently claimed they were specifically targeted based on these factors.

One survivor from Rotherham recalled in 2018 that her abusers made it known they believed she deserved “punishment” because of her non-Muslim status, lack of virginity, and choice of attire. She described harrowing experiences of being moved between homes and subjected to rape over a hundred times. “When they beat me, they called me a ‘white slag’ and a ‘white bastard’… They said I had to ‘submit’ or face violence,” she recounted.

This account aligns with a 2017 report from the former Quilliam think tank, which suggested that about 84% of groomers were of “South Asian” descent, a term referring to individuals from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

The report, crafted by two Pakistani researchers, highlighted that working-class white girls are often viewed as “easy targets” and “fair prey,” contrasting with the perception that Muslim girls should be “protected.” Unfortunately, local authorities frequently overlooked these issues, fearing accusations of racism or exacerbating community tensions.

Baroness Casey’s review revealed an instance where officers had literally crossed out the word “Pakistani” on a child’s file using whiteout. “I think there are good people who really don’t want this to be known, because they think, ‘Oh, then all the racists are going to be even more racist,’” she commented.