Three Girls

[wiskey]

One of the TV moments of the year I think.... Sadly.

 

[dessiato]

I can't help but wonder about all the other girls, and how much justice they're getting.

And Sarah. How badly she seems to have been treated. But I suppose she's considered collateral damage to save the face of those who ignored, or dismissed, her.

I am also reminded of the time, years ago now, I worked in an office that was predominantly Pakistani Muslims. It was common knowledge , within the office, that they believed white girls were only any good to be shared for sex. At that time we thought it was just youngish men bragging/bravado. Now I wonder.

That is a very powerful drama documentary.

 

[spanglechick]

Child sexual exploitation on an organised level is not at all limited to Muslim men. Currently in london there is a big problem with a phenomenon called ‘county lines’ - whereby london (and Liverpool) gangs are supplying drugs to the suburbs and provincial towns. Unlike boys, who climb the ranks within the gang, girls are initiated by ‘line ups’ (a load of young blokes force her to have sex with them) and are then coerced / threatened to travel to the contact with a whole load of class A drugs stuffed up inside them (girls rarely get stop and searched). When they get to the destination for an overnight stay, the girl is then forced to have sex with the provincial gang members (often a fair bit older).

I’m not really interested in the ethnic background of the gang members, but i will tell you, vanishingly few of them are of middle eastern heritage.

This isnt about race, really. It’s about men - pretty much exclusively men - identifying vulnerable children and using them for their own sexual and financial gratification - not caring about the trauma and destruction they inflict.

Over 80% of victims of child sexual exploitation will go on to attempt suicide.

There are CSE victims, often more than one, in every state school in inner london, on average. And these are just the cases that are known.

So yes, these girls were insulted and abused by the system - but we also need to point an uncomfortable finger at the perpetrators of organised CSE, and far more than ethnicity, religion or culture, they have one thing in common. They are men. What are we doing about that? What is ‘the male community’ doing to address this trend?

 

[dessiato]

Child sexual exploitation on an organised level is not at all limited to Muslim men. Currently in london there is a big problem with a phenomenon called ‘county lines’ - whereby london (and Liverpool) gangs are supplying drugs to the suburbs and provincial towns. Unlike boys, who climb the ranks within the gang, girls are initiated by ‘line ups’ (a load of young blokes force her to have sex with them) and are then coerced / threatened to travel to the contact with a whole load of class A drugs stuffed up inside them (girls rarely get stop and searched). When they get to the destination for an overnight stay, the girl is then forced to have sex with the provincial gang members (often a fair bit older).

I’m not really interested in the ethnic background of the gang members, but i will tell you, vanishingly few of them are of middle eastern heritage.

This isnt about race, really. It’s about men - pretty much exclusively men - identifying vulnerable children and using them for their own sexual and financial gratification - not caring about the trauma and destruction they inflict.

Over 80% of victims of child sexual exploitation will go on to attempt suicide.

There are CSE victims, often more than one, in every state school in inner london, on average. And these are just the cases that are known.

So yes, these girls were insulted and abused by the system - but we also need to point an uncomfortable finger at the perpetrators of organised CSE, and far more than ethnicity, religion or culture, they have one thing in common. They are men. What are we doing about that? What is ‘the male community’ doing to address this trend?

A much higher proportion of offenders, at least according to what I've been reading, seem to be Pakistani/Indian. Although the majority are not. But, as you say it is a problem that it is men doing this. Something must be done to support the victims, to ensure that they are supported much more than these girls were.

We must also remember that, although in this case it was girl victims, sexual abuse, organised sexual abuse, isn't just girls. Although the majority are.

Mostly I'd like to know that lessons really were learned and victims are more likely to be supported, that the class issue is not a factor in believing them or blaming them. But I doubt it.