I’m one of the 99% of victims who won’t see justice in the courts

Tuesday, 28 November 2017

On-street grooming of children for Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) has been reported in the mainstream media for some time. The Rotherham scandal made the national news and has resulted in several convictions. The landmark trial of a large grooming gang in Rochdale was made into a TV drama. There have also been Police investigations in Bradford, Sheffield, Oxford and many other cities. These have led to hundreds of convictions for offences such as rape, conspiracy to commit rape, sexual activity with a child, facilitating child prostitution and trafficking for sexual exploitation.

I spoke to Ella (not her real name), who is a Grooming Gang survivor who now gives Grooming Gang Awareness talks to students and professionals. She told me her story and her reasons for speaking out. Chillingly, she still needs to remain anonymous because her abusers still walk free.

Ella was groomed twice. She was just 14 when she was first groomed by a man who was in his 30’s, who was a customer at her place of work, where she had a Saturday job.  She got to know the man over several months and says “He was polite and charming.” He gained her trust. He had a car and a house. He was already in an adult relationship, but he hid that fact from Ella.

He bought the 14-year old gifts, and she developed a crush on him. He started to drive her out to remote places where nobody would see them together. She says she doesn’t remember their first kiss, but she does remember the first time he exposed himself to her. She says “I was shocked, it hadn’t crossed my mind that he might do that. He gradually persuaded me to do more and more things. After a few months of dating, he took me back to his house. I lost my virginity to him, in his bed”.

She said “It was an inappropriate relationship but he never hurt me or hit me. My parents found out and they were naturally concerned. My Dad went to speak to him, but he just told my Dad we were in love. I told them I was happy, but looking back I wish an adult had done something to stop it. The relationship lasted several months. Eventually I realised that I wasn’t mature enough for an adult sexual relationship, because I was only 15. So I ended it, and a couple of years later we moved away”.

But sadly that’s when things turned much worse.

Within a week of moving to a new town in Yorkshire, she was groomed again. She was still only a teenager, and again, the man, a Pakistani Muslim was in his 30’s. She had been clothes shopping in town, and was walking home alone when the man started talking to her. It was the middle of the day.  At first she wasn’t interested but says he was very persuasive. “He wore nice clothes and smiled a lot. He complimented me saying I had nice eyes. I was flattered I suppose. I was single and wanted a boyfriend”

They started dating and he would pick her up two or three times a week. At first he seemed friendly and became her boyfriend. He was funny and generous and she fell in love with him. Ella says “He became more controlling and abusive, telling me what to wear and where I could or couldn’t go. I was a good girl so I tried to keep him happy by doing what he wanted. It was very much an adult-child relationship. He had all the power.”

She later found out that he had other girlfriends at the same time and says she was stunned to hear he didn’t believe in monogamy. He became jealous, violent and aggressive with her. Although initially the sex had been consensual, within a couple of months it was “just rapes”. She says “There were no more meals out or gifts. He beat me really badly, sometimes for hours at a time, always ending with rape.. I wanted it to end but he wouldn’t let me go. I couldn’t stop it. He was bigger and stronger than me – he sat on me and pinned me down, strangling and suffocating me until I felt like I was dying. He pulled my hair out, hit me to the ground, kicked me and stamped on me. He threatened to kill my parents if they tried to stop me seeing him, so I kept it secret from them. He warned me things would get worse if I went to the police. All the time I was still going to lessons and doing my exams, while my teachers had no idea what was happening to me. Under my clothes I was constantly covered in bruises. This went on for a year”.

He then starting introducing her to his friends in neighbouring towns and cities. “They were all Pakistani Muslim men” Ella told me, “They instantly hated me – they called me a fucking Gori (which I was told means white trash), white bitch and white slag, over and over. I was very afraid of them. My perpetrator started to take me to different flats and houses to be, what he called ‘gang raped’; sometimes by two men, sometimes more. I desperately tried to get out of it. The whole idea was unbearable. I was so gutted that the man I had trusted was doing this to me. I couldn’t believe that he knew so many evil people. I felt deeply betrayed”.

Ella, even today still finds it difficult to reveal the details of what these men did to her, she says “I’d rather not say the details but he put me through a lot of pain. It was disgusting. It makes me angry to think about it. They threatened me with kidnap and gang rape when I tried to escape. They had weapons. I fought and tried to talk them out of it”.

Eventually the Police told Ella’s parents to move her away. They sent her to her Aunt’s and they were forced to sell their home.

Ella says she no longer feels threatened by the gang because she has the support of a partner and family who know what went on, and she hasn’t seen the men for some time. She says she is older and wiser now. The abuse has impacted her life in many ways. Although she has never attempted to commit suicide she does still have PTSD, nightmares and panic attacks sometimes.

Her main abuser was arrested a couple of times, when he hurt her particularly badly, but was always released without charge. Ella feels the Police failed her badly “like many other victims around that time”.

She says most Police officers she met at the time were unsupportive and unsympathetic (although a couple have since apologised for the forces failings). “They didn’t even do basic investigations or photograph my injuries” she says, “At one point I was hospitalised, so in my view they were incompetent. There could have been evidence from witnesses and phone records, but they didn’t even try to collect it. They just weren’t interested.”

She went on to add “some Police just seemed to do the bare minimum and make excuses for not doing any more. What makes me most angry is knowing that it turns out there were so many victims similar to me, some having to endure much worse, and yet still the Police didn’t try to warn people, or try to stop the perpetrators”.

After recently re-reporting her abuse, the Investigators told Ella that there is insufficient evidence, so none of her attackers have been prosecuted, despite the ‘criminal injuries compensation authority’ being satisfied with the amount of evidence and awarding her compensation earlier this year.

Ella now finds the strength to speak out to raise awareness on the issue.

She says “I’m one of the 99% of victims who won’t see justice in the courts. It’s horrible knowing that they got away with it, especially as we know that they did it to so many other girls too.

“It’s only recently that the public has become aware of the scale and severity of this problem. Of course all types of Child Sexual Exploitation are bad, but some are really, really bad. My first grooming experience was what they call an ‘inappropriate relationship’ and it was fairly mild. He was Irish Catholic, and it wasn’t driven by racial or religious hate. (He had a Lolita fantasy). But my second experience with a Pakistani Muslim ‘Grooming Gang’ was horrific and especially sinister. Through listening to other survivors, I realised that the ideology and the ways of victim-blaming haven’t changed over the past 20 years. Although the majority of CSE perpetrators in the UK are white, Grooming Gang perpetrators are 75-95% Pakistani Muslim.

Gang groomers still use the same reasons to justify what they do… For example, saying that all white girls are slags, and that if they dress immodestly they deserve rape as punishment. (‘Immodestly’ means dressing like a normal Western teenager, in jeans and trainers). This is so wrong. They blame Parents, teachers, social services, the children; anyone except themselves. With phones, internet, social media, porn, sexting and gaming, things are getting even worse. Cultural issues including ideas about Honour, loyalty and forced marriage also play a part. My perpetrator also used quotes from the Koran as he beat and raped me. I’m not saying this to stir up hate. I’m saying it because it’s important that we speak about these things so that we can bring them into the light and address them.

I strongly believe that Young People need educating about the risks of becoming a victim of Child Sexual Exploitation.  And I believe that boys need educating about risks of being drawn into gang crime, drug dealing, and sexual offending too. With ‘Grooming Gang Awareness’, boys can be educated about the laws around consent, rape, coercion, trafficking and prostitution of children. They can be made aware of the ways that a gang will groom or coerce them into getting involved and committing crime. Then they can then see more clearly what are the good influences and the bad influences on them. It’s about taking control of their own lives and leading a life they can be proud of; And having healthy, loving, sexual relationships.

I hope that by bringing awareness we can bring changes to ensure that fewer young men will perpetrate these crimes in the future. I know I can only speak to a few boys, and many won’t be interested in what I have to say, but hopefully some will be saved from either becoming victims, or perpetrators, by hearing my story.

I asked Ella whether she thinks children in Sheffield, Rotherham, Rochdale and Oxford are still being abused.

Chillingly she told me “Unfortunately, kids are being abused in every part of the UK right now, as you are reading this. CSE is an epidemic. The stigma and shame is bad for all survivors so it can be difficult to talk about. Victims are all ages” she warns, “boys and girls, from all backgrounds. I’ve been to Swinton Lock in Rotherham for support, and they told me that they are still getting many new referrals of recent victims of CSE. Of course familial child sex abuse is a huge problem too “.

I asked Ella if more should be done in schools and for parents to eradicate the problem, she said “Barnardo’s Grooming Line gives a good basic understanding of how grooming works. I think that once people heard about the problem, many people looked back, and they realised that some things they had witnessed had in fact been Child Sexual Exploitation. Education is an ongoing task, and the level of awareness now is much better than it was when I was young. People are learning that it isn’t the victim’s fault. I also think that a lot of Police forces are now definitely doing a better job tackling it. The government has also made CSE a Public Health priority, which I’m very happy about. Next we need a National Grooming Gang Prevention Plan.

I’d like to see more prevention programs provided for boys who are at risk of committing all sorts of crimes. This is because 95% of Sexual crimes, and most violent crimes, are committed by males. If the boys already know people in Gangs, drug dealers, live near grooming hotspots, or hold the same misogynistic beliefs, or racist beliefs about women and girls, we need to be talking to them before it’s too late”.

It was always in the Public Interest.

Friday, 3 November 2017

It was always in the public interest

David Lean was a child destined for a great future in football. He loved football so much, he can’t remember a time without it in his life. He says, ‘Two older brothers and a sporting dad saw to that. Although my dad played rugby for Fylde – until a bad injury at a young age, he was a star, playing for the first team at just 17 as a winger. He was also the fastest in Lancashire at school.’ Like many young boys, David played football all day, every day; but David was good. He dreamed about becoming a footballer every day.

He played for his Primary school at 9 years old. He recalls the school team manager, who doubled up as a teacher, told his mum and dad at parents’ evening that  ‘My brains were in my feet. Dad was happy but a little worried about this comment. Mum was devastated.’

From a very young age, he played every week at his local YMCA and soon joined their team. He also played for his high school team and his hometown Blackpool school boys. He had trials with Blackpool FC, before spending two years with Burnley until he left school, winning competitions and leagues with regularity, as well as individual awards. By the age of 16, he had collected around 40 trophies for his hard work.

He says modestly ‘My Pro career was short. I was with Preston North End from October 1983 to May 1986, after Burnley let me go – just three weeks before I left school. That was hard to take.’

He went on to play Sunday football in most of the local leagues, winning the Sunday Premiere League twice. He also played many seasons in the North West Counties and West Lancashire leagues, as well as a short spell with Fleetwood Town in the late 90’s.

It was as an 11-year-old though that David’s life was changed forever. On a holiday in Wales. in the Summer of 1979, he met a professional football coach.

‘He had links to a professional club and told me I was a star of the future.’

He told me, “He wrote to me in total for 11 months, grooming me, before I eventually spent two nights attending a football course at his house in April 1980, as a 12-year-old. I was sexually abused by him over a sustained period on both evenings.” Despite being devastated by the abuse on those two nights, he bravely returned home in silence, telling no one of his ordeal.

The Police were the first people I ever told

“My mum made comments about Childhood Sexual Abuse after a TV programme, and told me she would not have been able to cope if that had ever happened to me. I decided there and then that I would never disclose until after Mum had passed. That programme was aired in 1997, and I disclosed in February 2013. I kept my secret promise and I’m glad I did, although I went through many years of wanting to disclose and suffering because of my decision. I do not regret it at all. I went to the police and disclosed just five days after Mum’s funeral. The police were the first people I ever told,” David said.

“If I’m honest, having to disclose and put my elderly dad through all that was such a hard decision to make, but if I was to have any chance of a conviction and justice, I would need my dad and his evidence. It broke my heart – him telling me about his police interview. He passed away just 6 months after seeing my abuser convicted. On his deathbed, he spent hours apologising to me.  It was NEVER his fault or Mum’s. My abuser was a professional and the best at what he did.”

I asked David about his experience of disclosing to the Police. “After disclosure, the police took my case seriously, but it was later when the first mention of Public Interest came into play. The two CPS tests are the evidence test and the public interest, as well as a witness needing to be credible. In June 2013, the CPS dropped my case, saying it was not in the public interest. On their own website at the time, it stated that the following are almost always in the public interest… If the child is 12 years or younger,

If it’s planned/ groomed for a period,

If the Abuser is in a position of trust,

If there is a significant age difference.

I ticked every single box. They also said that I was credible and I met the evidence test too.” he says.

Asked how he felt when he was told by the CPS, that his abuser would not face prosecution, he says “I could not agree, Ever. So I appealed to the National Childhood Sexual Abuse review panel, which had just been formed. I was the test case. I appealed and eventually, after 7 months and two meetings of a group headed by the top officials of both police and CPS, I won. The CPS was told to re-look at my case, with the NEW prosecution guidance that my case had brought in. Effectively, my case changed the law – meaning cases of CSA where only a short sentence may be handed down, could still be seen as within the public interest.” He added, “I will never forgive the CPS, I went through hell. My case was always in the public interest. It’s just a money thing, so many CSA cases are dropped on these grounds. It’s disgraceful.”

The hurt doesn’t go away after conviction. David still finds it difficult to speak about his ordeal and had to take several breaks during the recording of this interview. After one such break, he told me “I feel as angry today with the CPS, as I did in June 2013. Nothing will ever take that feeling away. The more I hear about the way cases of CSA are dealt with, the angrier I get. You hope it’s a one-off with your own case but it’s far from it. It’s about money and guaranteed convictions. They care about nothing else. You are just a reference number to them. Still though, I would always encourage survivors to come forward. But I would always ask them to make sure they have some support before they do. I would also tell non-recent cases coming forward, to ensure they are coming forward for more than criminal justice. It will be a difficult road and can take up to two years, and often does. I know many – including myself, who have and are moving forward with life after disclosing our horrible secrets. We have taken back our lives. Having support is vital after disclosure. I don’t just mean professional support either.  Teresa my wife has been my rock since disclosure. I am fully aware of how hard this has been for her. Teresa had no idea when we met, and although she was the first loved one that I told after disclosure to the police, we had only been together around four years at that time. I had no idea how she would take it. To make matters worse, at times within her nursing role, she has dealt with CSA Offenders. Soon afterwards, she changed roles within nursing.  My case has since gone public, so she has had to cope with so much, and I am very lucky to have her. We married on December 15th 2016, so are almost at our first anniversary, although we will have been together just short of 9 years by the time that date arrives.

I had asked Teresa after my mum’s funeral, during a week’s annual leave we had both booked, for one day to myself. I told her I had something I needed to do, which wasn’t great – but I would tell her when I got back from doing it, exactly where and what I had just done.

I arrived back from disclosing, and we sat down and spent the evening crying with each of us supporting the other. It was a very hard night. Just two days later, we would go together to do my video evidence. Teresa has been my rock and I am forever grateful.

The police went to see my dad, cold so to speak. They wanted to talk to him before I did, which was fine by me. I told my 3 brothers together soon after.”

It seems unthinkable that this sort of abuse could happen at professional clubs. I asked David what measures he’d like to see clubs take to ensure the abuse he suffered never happens to other innocent children, left under adult supervision. He says “The abuse scandal that is happening within football at this time, is ongoing. The inquiry being carried out by the FA is ongoing too.  I am sure things will come out of this to improve the situation, but can you stop sexual abuse within football or anywhere else? Mandatory reporting will certainly help and is – as always – being looked at. Things have no doubt improved since the 70s and 80s, but the facts speak for themselves and it’s still going on today.  Football Coaches are in a unique position of getting both children and parents close and supportive, and a chance to spend time each week to worm their way into families. Parents and clubs need to improve communications and hold club safeguarding nights – as well as starting to talk to the children directly.

Every three months the statistics produced within football continue to increase. I believe more people will continue to come forward, especially when the current situation comes to the forefront, early next year.

The whole system needs to be reviewed when dealing with cases of CSA, especially non-recent cases. No priority is given to those cases from the start unless the accused is seen as a current safeguarding concern. Resources are very tight and investigations take far too long. The process is far too slow. Communication along the way can be poor.

The key tests to get through the CPS are difficult to prove in non-recent cases also. Often, no support is offered to the survivors. So many things could be improved within the system. Most importantly though, people in these positions have to be fair and professional, as well as consistent in their approach. Survivors are treated differently by all police forces and CPS regions.

Schools and parents should open their eyes to CSA. It’s happening all around them every single day.

Training is essential, as schools could – and should – play such a massive role. Around 70% of sexual abuse to a child, is done by a family member – very often in the child’s own house, which makes it a very hard situation to report to other family members. Schools need to pick up on the signs, which are very recognisable with training. Parents need to understand the scale of this and again look for change. First and foremost it’s understanding this.”

David campaigns now, to raise awareness of CSA and has run three half-marathons and one full marathon this year, as well as completing a 24-hour walk, all to raise awareness and funds for counselling for survivors of CSA for a Blackpool-based Charity.
He also delivered a successful awareness campaign called #purplefriday on 15th September 2017, which was so successful that it reached almost 12 million people on Social media alone. “Due to this, we are also running a very similar campaign to raise awareness of both CSA and CSE on 15th December this year called #purplechristmas, to raise awareness to hopefully keep this subject on people’s minds as we lead up to this special period for children, and keep them safe, so hopefully many more have a Merry Christmas this year.

Talk to your children. Know where your Children are. Listen to your children. 

I lost two decades of my life. That’s not OK!

Wednesday, 11 October 2017

Sammy Woodhouse was just 14 when she consented to sex with a 24 year old Pakistani Man. That was the damning and irresponsible verdict of the government’s criminal injuries compensation authority.

Ms Woodhouse, who bravely waived her right to anonymity, in order to help prosecute her attacker and two of his brothers – who were part of gang that groomed and abused 50 girls, was abused by four men as a child.

The Oxford dictionary defines the age of consent as the age at which a persons consent to sexual intercourse is valid in law.

That age is of course 16. The law is quite clear. It does not allow for anomalies where the victim was persuaded, threatened, or beaten. It does not allow for exceptions when the attackers are not from this country, nor does it allow exceptions for cases where the victim is poor or vulnerable – it is clear, if the person is under 16, that person can NEVER give consent.

Prior to being groomed and abused, Sammy was perfectly happy. She told me that she had lots of friends, was happy, confident and good at school. Life was great!

All that changed when she met her main attacker, and three other men at her local shop. A lot of kids hung around there.

As with many victims of grooming she first thought she was the man’s girlfriend. At 16 though, she recognised the violence and harassment and made a statement to police. It wasn’t until about 5 years ago, that she fully came to terms with what had actually happened to her and gave herself the label of victim, not girlfriend.

When she went to the Police at 16, she had hoped they would help, although she knew that many of them were helping her attacker.

I asked her if she blamed the authorities for not protecting her and the dozens of other victims and she said “The people who are to blame are the men that abused me and the people who helped and were involved.”

Most of us, who have never experienced such vile actions, would expect the police to take such matters seriously and act with the full force of the law to protect the children, but that simply didn’t happen. When asked if she thinks the authorities that turned a blind eye should be prosecuted she told me “Yes I do – there is a difference in someone raising the alarm and being ignored (I don’t blame them), to deliberately doing nothing.” She says that the blame should always start with the attackers “But in my case, they met him and helped him further, so they are also to blame”.

Sammy was let down repeatedly by people and organisations that should have protected her.

Rotherham MP Sarah Champion was forced to resign her shadow cabinet role after writing in a newspaper article that “Britain has a problem with British Pakistani men raping and exploiting white girls.”

Ms Champion has said her comments were edited and stripped of nuance, but resigned from her position in Jeremy Corbyn’s team.

I asked Ms Woodhouse if she thought Champion was right to resign. She said “Sarah was very accurate and should not have stood down, she should have stood her ground.” she added “It’s important we don’t only talk about one race, but we do have to address it. Otherwise, victims voices will be lost.”

Some people have called for South Yorkshire Police to be disbanded since the scandal. I asked Sammy if she thought the force were fit for purpose. “No! They weren’t fit for purpose,” she said, “A lot has changed, but it’s no where near good enough. If the system was fit for purpose we wouldn’t have so many abused and failed children. The Government need to recognise and step in. The Police are over worked and under staffed and don’t understand grooming properly. There is a lot of work to do!”

Sammy Woodhouse has shown amazing strength, courage and resilience to become one of the most prominent campaigners for victims of child abuse, making regular appearances on daytime TV, receiving huge support. She is championing Sammy’s Law, a campaign to change the law to allow victims of grooming and abuse to have their criminal records expunged where they were directed to commit those crimes by their attackers. The campaign is being backed by several Police Chiefs, MP’s and child protection experts in a bid to minimise the impact on victims.

I asked Sammy where she found the strength to be a survivor and no longer a victim. She told me she had always been a person that didn’t like to sit around, moping and feeling sorry for herself. She said “I also don’t like to be seen as a victim, as it always makes me feel weak. We have to get on with life. There’s only one person that can really change things in my life, and that is me. I want my legacy to be something my children are proud of. I want to be able to say when I look back at my life, that I made a difference and helped others. I can say that now as before I couldn’t. To do this, I had to accept help and support and not avoid it.”

On her campaign she says “Yes! Victims and survivors records should be quashed. We shouldn’t be blamed and criminalised for being abused, We need to take into consideration if those people are now a risk and still offending as some do. We need to look at people as individuals. I have started Sammy’s law asking for this to be put in place. The first step is common sense and people getting a fu##ing grip. IT’S NEVER A CHILD’S FAULT.!!!!!!”

I asked her if she believes children in Rotherham are still at risk from grooming gangs. She told me “of course children are still at risk. It will always happen, we have to prevent as much as possible and keep the awareness going. We will never stop it but we can prevent it. Things are much better in Rotherham but abuse happens everywhere not just here.”

Despite the torment that Sammy endured she appears to be coming out of the other side a proud, selfless, articulate woman who family and friends must be extremely proud of and an inspiration to the hundreds and thousands of victims out there still searching for justice.

My final question to to the remarkable Sammy Woodhouse was what her future aspirations are and whether she can have a normal life.

Her reply was “I want to prevent child abuse as much as possible and make national changes, I’d like to be part of knowing every child in the country is more safe”. Her parting comment was “Define normal! What happened will always remain with me but I’m determined to move forward from it and not let it hold me back. I’ve lost two decades of my life. My life is only starting now at the age of 32 – that’s not OK.”

Posted by fit and proper opposition at 16:09  

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This week it was revealed by an independent enquiry that the police and prosecution services missed three chances to prosecute former Labour peer Lord Janner.

Wednesday, 20 January 2016

As a man in my mid 40’s that still doesn’t really know what I want to be when I grow up, I wouldn’t readily describe myself as having a career. Yes, I’ve always had a job, apart from a short few months in my early 20s when I chose to drink for a few weeks instead of job hunting. Next year will be my 30^th year being employed. In those 3 decades I have been a post man, a bar man, a car cleaner a philosopher and a manager. In none of those roles have I suspected any of my colleagues or managers of being a child sex offender. Maybe I’m lucky.

Imagine the soul-searching one must have to do when considering whether it is worth ruining your blossoming career prospects to report someone in a position of authority or trust for doing the most cowardly and vile thing possible, hurting a defenceless child for some sick self-gratification. I suppose if I was a BBC tea lady or errand boy, hoping for a shot at the lime light in twenty years- time I would spend many a sleepless night pondering “what if the bosses don’t believe me and give that position to my friend”. If I had chosen to be a police officer, one of the highest positions of trust in the world, rather than deciding to pound the streets with a massive bag of gas bills and giros on my back, I would have faced the decision to turn a blind eye or prosecute a high-profile well-known politician after receiving over 20 complaints against him.

It could be that I’m lucky to not have had to face those decisions but I can easily put myself in their shoes and say unequivocally that if I suspected anyone, no matter how high in any organisation they were, of crimes against children, I would have thrown my career away in a second. No golden hand shake or carriage clock and hefty pension would help me sleep at night or look in the mirror, or at my own children, knowing I had stood by and let that happen to someone else’s children.

This week it was revealed by an independent enquiry that the police and prosecution services missed three chances to prosecute former Labour peer Lord Janner.

The enquiry found that there was sufficient evidence to provide a real prospect of conviction in 1991, 2002,  and again in 2007 for indecent assault and serious sexual assault. In 2002 the police failed to provide evidence to prosecution services, which resulted in no case being brought against the late peer.

The enquiry also revealed there was enough evidence in 2007 to search his home and arrest him. His family of course deny all the accusations against Janner, who died in December last year. They would, wouldn’t they?

By the time the investigation was ready to be brought to trial Janner was suffering from Dementia and was unfit to stand trial. The trial of facts which was to be held prior to his death has now been shelved.

Alison Saunders, Director of public prosecutions said “The enquiry’s findings that mistakes were made confirms my view that failings in the past by prosecutors and Police meant that proceedings were not brought”.
Mistakes? Is it a mistake that people made a conscious decision not to tell of their suspicions and people explicitly employed to bring despicable criminals to court decided that it was in the best interest of everyone to allow the accused to go unpunished? Is it a mistake that police failed to investigate claims that a 14 year old child had shared a hotel room with a rich and powerful man, despite it being relatively easy to prove or indeed disprove? Was it a mistake that they failed to ask the right questions at the care home where the alleged victim lived? Liz Dux, the solicitor who represented 8 of the alleged victims was absolutely right when she said that sincere regret was of little consolation.

A spokesman for the children’s charity NSPCC said “it is vital that victims of child abuse have the confidence to speak out knowing their allegations will be investigated”. If I was a victim I would not be in the slightest bit confident that my allegations would be investigated after a series of high profile names were revealed to have been suspected of crimes only after it was too late to be brought to trial.

Janner, a former QC and member of parliament was given a lucrative role as a peer despite the earlier accusations against him.

There has been a string of allegations brought to light in recent years accusing politicians and TV personalities of some terrible crimes, many of which were apparently widely rumoured for years.

Anyone who purposely hides or withholds information about crimes of abuse, particularly against children ought to be dealt with strongly. It is weak, cowardly and selfish to worry about your own career or financial security when lives are in danger. Abuse isn’t harmless. It ruins lives. It doesn’t only ruin the lives of the victims but that of victims’ families, and it never goes away. Every time a new name is produced and a new allegation surfaces many of the victims are forced to relive the torture of their own experience. I would welcome naming and shaming at least – if not prosecution for those who protect abusers.

There needs to be a mechanism put in place to ensure that this sort of crime can never happen again.

Wednesday, 24 September 2014

Despite suggestions that Rotherham council and South Yorkshire Police tried to cover the horrific exploitation and sexual abuse of over a thousand children for fear of being politically incorrect, it is now well documented that the perpetrators were mainly of Pakistani origin. There has been widespread condemnation of PCC Sean Wright; indeed I called for his resignation here two weeks ago. He finally did the right thing and stepped down last week.

Last week-end Joyce Thacker, director of children’s services agreed to leave her £180,000 job, by mutual consent, following strong criticism of her part in the failings. Council leader Roger Stone, chief executive Martin Kimber and Wright had already stepped down before her.
Ms Thacker, who was forced to defend her decision in 2012 to remove three children from foster carers because they voted UKIP.

What this whole sorry episode has done is open the doors of Rotherham and neighbouring towns to UKIP and even less savoury groups such as the English Defence League. The EDL had a strong presence in Rotherham last Saturday where their thuggish supporters ran amok in the town intimidating shoppers and generally being antisocial. Also present on Saturday were around 200 protesters including a Muslim protest group.

Chief executive of the British Ramadhan foundation, Mohammed Shafiq said “we want to see justice for the victims, and we want the community to come together to say not in our name”. Mr Rafiq went on to say “There has been utter systematic failings in South Yorkshire Police. We want to see the system that has failed these girls changed so that people believe the victims rather than labelling them as prostitutes or a lifestyle choice.”

This is absolutely where the focus should be going forward. It is not appropriate for politicians elected to serve the public to trample over each other desperately trying to score cheap points for their parties. It is obscene to say this is the fault of the Labour party, the Tory party or any other party. This is the fault of wicked men who systematically groomed, abused, raped threatened and violently tortured young girls. It is not right to say all Asian men have no respect for white women.
It is easy to point the finger at a police force already on the ropes, following the damning Hillsborough enquiry and the report into violence against minors at the Orgreave site in the 1980’s. It is easy to blame the beleaguered Mr Wright, who clung to his job probably longer than he should. It easy to raise the point that less than 20% of the electorate turned out to vote in the PCC elections, it is clear that the role is now in question and the Government (whichever colour rosette they wear) has to think very carefully about whether the role should be scrapped and replaced with a body that can itself be held to account.

None of these things will help the victims.

The harrowing tales told by some of the victims brave enough to speak out, is enough to make one ashamed to live in Yorkshire and in some cases, ashamed to be a man.

One victim, who called herself Sarah, told the BBC that police found her naked in the bed of a man when she was just 11 years old and they left without taking any action. The girl, who was in care at the time, tells how she was taken to a house where there were two Asian men waiting, and another girl showed her what to do. The two girls were naked by the bed when police arrived but despite making clear eye contact with the terrified victims, the police left the property, leaving the children behind to be abused until the next day.
When Sarah reported the abuse, which she says went on for over 5 years and involved more than 40 men; she says police accused her of lying.
Another victim, who calls herself Jessica in the article, claims she was groomed for two years by a man who picked her up in his car when she was just 14. Her father went to [police four times to report the abuse but officers told him that if she chose to hang around with these men she was consenting, effectively saying she deserved it.

Others tell of being raped once a week every week while their families were being threatened and intimidated yet police and local authorities did nothing to protect them, presumably feeling the victims deserved it.

It was not just abuse from the perpetrators it was abuse of power by the authorities. People who earned a good living to protect vulnerable children and families betrayed the trust that their position offered them.

It is true the victims deserve justice. They deserve an apology. They deserve an explanation why this abuse went on for years and years without being opposed. They deserve to know that this will kind of abuse will never ever happen again.
In my previous blog post two weeks ago, I called the scandal the perfect political storm. Politicians, social services, police authorities, and the Pakistani community have all been accused. I too called for Sean Wright to resign, but there are still other aspects which remain largely unreported. It is a fact that the vast majority of the victims were poor vulnerable children. Many were in care and many others came from poor working class families. The establishment’s lack of respect for working class females lays at the heart of the events that took place in Rotherham.

This sort of organised abuse and abandonment by the authorities simply does not exist in middle class lives. Imagine a wealthy business man and his well-tailored solicitor walking into a police station to report such crimes being sent on their way or threatened with arrest.
Removing the people from office that were responsible for allowing the abuse is not enough. Stiff prison sentences for the vile men who committed these despicable offences is not enough. There needs to be a mechanism put in place to ensure that this sort of crime can never happen again.

David Cameron and Ed Miliband need to stand up and be counted. They need to apologise to the victims and they need to say which ever one of runs the country in future must absolutely guarantee that this type of abandonment of poor vulnerable working class females will not be tolerated no matter what colour or religion the accused are.

The way the police deal with sexual assault victims needs immediate overhaul. It is unacceptable that a victim be told by police that it will be their word against the attackers. It is unacceptable that child victims are forced to face courts and accused of being liars or called slappers by solicitors. Obviously there needs to be a level of protection from malicious accusations but there must be a system where victims of such life destroying crimes feel comfortable that they will be believed and treated with dignity rather than being forced to relive the nightmare.

Anyone who is employed as a social worker or police officer must be empowered to take difficult decisions and be open-minded to reports of crimes regardless of the colour of the accused or the social standing of the victim’s family. Communities must stand together and say we will no longer tolerate our young being treated with such little respect; we will no longer tolerate people employed to protect, turning a blind eye to these behaviours.

The Asian community has to stand side by side with neighbouring communities and say this is not acceptable. While we continue to have pockets of ethnic minorities concentrated into areas such as Rotherham or Sheffield’s Page Hall. Integration is the answer. Forget pandering to extreme groups like EDL or the respectable face of racism UKIP and blaming immigrants, forget fear of offending ethnic groups of people, integrating people of all races into all places is the way to solve the problem. Community leaders and local politicians need to do more to help the multi-cultural society we are so proud of, become one community. We need to stop demonstrating against the building of a mosque and take the time to educate ourselves about how vast majority of law-abiding peace-loving immigrants live in reality.

If we can begin to have this kind of existence and rid ourselves of the ignorance blighting the lives of victims such as those of Rotherham, we can begin to ensure never again will anyone be afraid to speak out or stand up and be counted for fear of being lambasted

The victims deserve it.

Rotherham; the perfect political storm.

Friday, 5 September 2014

Rotherham; the perfect political storm.

An independent inquiry into child sexual exploitation set up in 2013 by Rotherham Council was published on August 26^th. Its findings have placed a spotlight on the South Yorkshire town the likes of which has never been seen before.   The inquiry found that an estimated 1200 children had been sexually exploited between 1997 and 2013.

Although systematic grooming and abuse by predominantly Pakistani men had been reported to the authorities, the terrible crimes had gone unpunished for two decades. The fact that the men accused of trafficking, kidnapping and rape were of Pakistani origin was largely covered up by social services and the police for fear of accelerating racial hatred in the area.

Members of the Pakistani community condemned both the crimes and the cover up.

South Yorkshire police commissioner Sean Wright has refused to step down from his £85,000 a year job despite being head of children’s services during much of the period when the attacks took place, before being elected in 2012. His deputy, Tracey Cheetham resigned this week, saying she could no longer support him (Wright) nor could she continue to be his deputy and called on him to also resign. There is no suggestion that Ms Cheetham had any connection to the appalling scandal but feelings are running so high in the town that a local council meeting was interrupted by locals, furious that the grooming and abuse had continued despite appeals for the local police to act.

Deputy leader of Rotherham council released a statement apologising for the council’s failings, but Mr Wright still refuses to stand down although he has now quit the Labour party. This not only highlighted the abuse in Rotherham but the ridiculous idea that the man charged with holding the police force to account cannot be held to account.

A document published in 2012 by the home office called Have you got what it takes to be police and crime commissioner states “as PCC you will have a responsibility to hold the police to account on behalf of the public” it goes on to say “you will provide the link between the police and communities”. It also lists other responsibilities as delivering safety and reducing crime.

It is quite clear that not only is Mr Wright not fit to continue in the post but that he should never have been given the role in the first place.

The position of PCC was widely criticised when it was introduced and voting was remarkably low in the elections. Surely now it is time that all PCC’s were removed. Whoever is in charge of the police force must be able to be held accountable.

Many of the victims in Rotherham were vulnerable children in care; children that were already on the books of social services. As head of children’s services it is implausible to believe Wright knew nothing of the abuse happening on his watch. This means he was either incredibly incompetent or implicit in turning a blind eye – either way a vote of no confidence must be passed on him and he should be removed and banned from holding public office again.

Rotherham in recent years has been the scene of many demonstrations from groups such as the English defence league and UKIP. The lack of action by Rotherham council for fear of upsetting the Asian communities has done nothing to help that situation but has helped right-wing parties like UKIP gain a foothold in the once labour dominated area.

In the local elections in May UKIP won 10 of the 21 seats in Rotherham, and 3 seats in neighbouring Sheffield.  While many will feel this was a protest vote aimed at the main parties and particularly Labours refusal to offer a referendum on Europe.  What it actual does is paves the way for more extreme right-wing parties like the BNP to target the area.

Failing to investigate crimes because they may have been committed by Pakistani men is irresponsible and dangerous. Local councils and police authorities must send out a clear message that these sorts of crimes will not be tolerated by people of any gender, age or ethnicity and anybody or group of people found guilty of these crimes must be punished to the fullest. Boys, girls, women and men have the right to feel safe and be protected by the police and the government.

Mr Wright was forced to cancel a public surgery in Barnsley today due to no members of the public booking an appointment. This sends a blunt message to the commissioner who still hangs on despite calls from the prime minister, the home secretary and leader of the labour party Ed Miliband for him to fall on his sword. Let us hope that today’s message that he is no longer wanted gives him the courage to finally do the right thing and go.