"Victims of grooming gangs want action"...headline today on the BBC

[Aladdin]

Victims want action, child abuse inquiry chair Alexis Jay says

"People need to step up to the mark" to tackle child abuse grooming gangs, Prof Alexis Jay tells BBC.

www.bbc.com

How long have victims been left unheard? This whole thing is news to me..not being from the UK. A quick search indicates there have been some Prosecutions but not nearly enough. Why was the DPP slow to believe victims? Was there a fear of racial tensions if perpetrators were prosecuted? Was that "fear" greater than the care for victims? I'm kind of upset thinking about this. Am I misreading the situation?

What an appalling tragedy and injustice for the victims who have waited far too long to be heard and believed.

 

[cupid_stunt]

There's been a lot of court cases, at least going back as far as 2017 and right up to last year, and I think there're more in the pipeline.

Google - grooming gang jailed

There's been various local inquiries, covering places like Manchester, Oldham and Rochdale, plus a more general national inquiry into child sex abuse overall, which took 7 years and cost £200m, that reported in 2022, with IIRC with 20 recommendations, but only some had been included in a bill that was never brought before Parliament, because of the general election. Labour is currently reviewing that bill, and are likely to include more recommendations.

Everything that went wrong is now known from all these various inquiries, it seems pointless having another one, that will just drag everything out for many more years, they just need to get the bill enacted, then start dealing with the more important issue to me, that being compensation for the victims.

It's only in the news ATM, because of Musk, Farage & Co, and even the Tories playing political games with the victims' suffering.

 

[Aladdin]

There's been a lot of court cases, at least going back as far as 2017 and right up to last year, and I think there're more in the pipeline.

Google - grooming gang jailed

There's been various local inquiries, covering places like Manchester, Oldham and Rochdale, plus a more general national inquiry into child sex abuse overall, which took 7 years and cost £200m, that reported in 2022, with IIRC with 20 recommendations, but only some had been included in a bill that was never brought before Parliament, because of the general election. Labour is currently reviewing that bill, and are likely to include more recommendations.

Everything that went wrong is now known from all these various inquiries, it seems pointless having another one, that will just drag everything out for many more years, they just need to get the bill enacted, then start dealing with the more important issue to me, that being compensation for the victims.

It's only in the news ATM, because of Musk, Farage & Co, and even the Tories playing political games with the victims' suffering.

Thanks cupid_stunt

I just clicked on the Google link you posted. I didn't go past the first page on Google search. Horrific. Seems that many victims were not heard or listened to for a long time.

I hope all victims will get justice. What appalling terrifying childhoods these children must have had

 

[Lotte]

The police in Rotherham knew and were utterly useless.

 

[two sheds]

Former chair of child abuse inquiry says another one would only delay action

Prof Alexis Jay calls for recommendations in 2022 report on child sexual abuse in England and Wales to be implemented

Former chair of child abuse inquiry says another one would only delay action

Prof Alexis Jay calls for recommendations in 2022 report on child sexual abuse in England and Wales to be implemented

www.theguardian.com

Sounds a bit too sensible for the government.

 

[CNT36]

Former chair of child abuse inquiry says another one would only delay action

Prof Alexis Jay calls for recommendations in 2022 report on child sexual abuse in England and Wales to be implemented

www.theguardian.com

Sounds a bit too sensible for the government.

She was very good on the wireless this morning. Everyone who has brought it up to me I have said much the same (not because I'm bright I read it somewhere). I read much of the report the other evening particularly the recommendations and they are pretty sensible and could help decrease exploitation and other abuse.

Some of the survivors had something to say about recent events



“We write as victims of extreme male violence,” the letter said. “What connects us all beyond our shared trauma is the support and kindness we have received from Jess Phillips over many years, personally and as activists fighting for change.

“We know there are those who would weaponise our pain for their own ends or political gain; who speak out with new-found interest, not to tackle the horrendous crimes that stole so much from us, but to further their own agenda. They should hang their heads in shame.

“As campaigners and activists, we fight every day to stop what happened to us or our loved ones happening to anyone else. We stand by Jess, knowing she has devoted her life to fighting for women and girls.”

From

‘We stand by Jess’: Telford survivors criticise Musk’s attack on Phillips

Exclusive: Victims of male violence sign letter praising minister for devoting life to ‘fighting for women and girls’

www.theguardian.com

 

[The39thStep]

The government clearly needs to fast-track , where necessary find additional funding them and complete all the recommendations in the report. Whilst I agree that there is no need for a further inquiry the progress on the recommendation has to be be as visible as possible and open to scrutiny. Some people may well want to move on due to the far rights historic success in using this issue, however many victims past and present find it very hard to move on.

I don't think there is any merit in denying that many victims have historically been let down by agencies who are responsible for safeguarding

 

[Aladdin]

She was very good on the wireless this morning. Everyone who has brought it up to me I have said much the same (not because I'm bright I read it somewhere). I read much of the report the other evening particularly the recommendations and they are pretty sensible and could help decrease exploitation and other abuse.

Some of the survivors had something to say about recent events



“We write as victims of extreme male violence,” the letter said. “What connects us all beyond our shared trauma is the support and kindness we have received from Jess Phillips over many years, personally and as activists fighting for change.

“We know there are those who would weaponise our pain for their own ends or political gain; who speak out with new-found interest, not to tackle the horrendous crimes that stole so much from us, but to further their own agenda. They should hang their heads in shame.

“As campaigners and activists, we fight every day to stop what happened to us or our loved ones happening to anyone else. We stand by Jess, knowing she has devoted her life to fighting for women and girls.”

From

‘We stand by Jess’: Telford survivors criticise Musk’s attack on Phillips

Exclusive: Victims of male violence sign letter praising minister for devoting life to ‘fighting for women and girls’

www.theguardian.com

That article quoted in the guardian link you posted...about Telford..

Over 1,000 children in Telford were sexually exploited, inquiry finds

Offenders ‘emboldened’ by failure of authorities to investigate, says three-year investigation into scandal

www.theguardian.com

This makes for terrifying reading


"Issues were not investigated because of nervousness about race, the inquiry’s final report said, and teachers and youth workers were discouraged from reporting child sexual exploitation."

"In 2013 seven men were jailed following Operation Chalice, a police inquiry into child prostitution in the Telford area that found girls as young as 13 were sexually exploited and groomed with offers of alcohol and money.
However, the report states that following the convictions, authorities failed to understand the importance of maintaining focus in this area and “by 2015 both the council and [West Mercia police] provision for child sexual exploitation [CSE] had in some ways gone back almost a decade”.
“Even after Operation Chalice, police and the council scaled down their specialist CSE teams to virtual zero – to save money,” Crowther concluded."

How can the victims ever be "compensated" ? Nothing compensates for what happened these children. Nothing compensates for the utter neglect of children who repeatedly told adults .. trusted adults...their own parents and families.....teachers ...social workers...police...and were effectively brushed under a carpet?
The parents of these children must have been going out of their minds. Let alone the children. The start to their lives ...ruined by brutal rapists and an effectively indifferent society.
Truly hell on earth for those poor children.

 

[cupid_stunt]

Sky News reporting on this, has just pointed out that there's already been a total of SIX inquiries and their reports, and that holding yet another one would just delay things for another few years.

 

[Aladdin]

Sky News reporting on this, has just pointed out that there's already been a total of SIX inquiries and their reports, and that holding yet another one would just delay things for another few years.

Why did it take so long to prosecute? I still don't understand that. It's appalling

 

[cupid_stunt]

And, now Farage has said he'll set up his own Reform inquiry, if the government does not do so before the end of Jan.

 

[SpookyFrank]

The police in Rotherham knew and were utterly useless.

Telford, likewise.

 

[SpookyFrank]

The government clearly needs to fast-track , where necessary find additional funding them and complete all the recommendations in the report. Whilst I agree that there is no need for a further inquiry the progress on the recommendation has to be be as visible as possible and open to scrutiny. Some people may well want to move on due to the far rights historic success in using this issue, however many victims past and present find it very hard to move on.

I don't think there is any merit in denying that many victims have historically been let down by agencies who are responsible for safeguarding

Ignoring the issue or pretending it had been dealt with adequately would both play into the hands of the far right.

Starmer talking up his own achievements as DPP in this context doesn't help either. Seems like he's waiting for a pat on the fucking head or something.

 

[cupid_stunt]

Why did it take so long to prosecute? I still don't understand that. It's appalling

Once it finally became public that cover ups had occurred, investigations started and prosecutions followed, I am not aware of undue delay between those two events.

I've not checked when the first prosecutions occurred, but in the link I provided earlier, there were prosecutions going back to 2017, but likely to have started before the date, and clearly investigations did.

The national inquiry didn't report until 2022, having been commissioned in 2015, when prosecutions were already under way.

 

[bellaozzydog]

Why did it take so long to prosecute? I still don't understand that. It's appalling

May I refer you to the decade and a half of defunding and destruction of the legal system in the U.K.

The prison and court systems are on the verge of collapse. Why aren’t Labour or the Tories talking about it? | Samira Shackle

Both parties try to appear tough on crime – but neither have convincing answers to the chaos in British criminal justice, says journalist Samira Shackle

amp.theguardian.com

 

[Lotte]

And, now Farage has said he'll set up his own Reform inquiry, if the government does not do so before the end of Jan.

Reform absolutely cannot be trusted with this. Also, it bears repeating that the Tories refused to open one and yet they're getting a pass. And this is before we get into cuts to legal aid funding - at the firm I worked for, most of our clients were dependent on it.

 

[Smokeandsteam]

The government clearly needs to fast-track , where necessary find additional funding them and complete all the recommendations in the report. Whilst I agree that there is no need for a further inquiry the progress on the recommendation has to be be as visible as possible and open to scrutiny. Some people may well want to move on due to the far rights historic success in using this issue, however many victims past and present find it very hard to move on.

I don't think there is any merit in denying that many victims have historically been let down by agencies who are responsible for safeguarding

I agree with all of that, except I do think that there needs to be a public inquiry.

There is no reason why the Jay recommendations can’t be put into place in the meantime. The alternative is that the line - already gaining credence - that only the populist right want an inquiry and care about the victims will take deeper root.

Also, just because the populist right say it, doesn’t mean that the charge that the previous inquiries have been too narrow or too cautious in exploring certain lines of inquiry isn’t true. This also needs to be addressed by a comprehensive review.

 

[Lotte]

I think there do need to be measures to stop something on the scale of Telford happening again. The question is, what?

 

[Boo Radley75]

And, now Farage has said he'll set up his own Reform inquiry, if the government does not do so before the end of Jan.

He could get James McMurdock to lead it. He knowns a thing or two, first hand, about violence against women.

 

[MikeMcc]

I agree with all of that, except I do think that there needs to be a public inquiry.

There is no reason why the Jay recommendations can’t be put into place in the meantime. The alternative is that the line - already gaining credence - that only the populist right want an inquiry and care about the victims will take deeper root.

Also, just because the populist right say it, doesn’t mean that the charge that the previous inquiries have been too narrow or too cautious in exploring certain lines of inquiry isn’t true. This also needs to be addressed by a comprehensive review.

Maybe a Judicial Overview to ensure that the recommendations are followed and review subsequent cases to see if there are additional safeguards that could be implemented. The initial recommendations MUST be implemented as soon as practically possible

 

[Lurdan]

I do think that there needs to be a public inquiry.

A public inquiry into what?

 

[Pickman's model]

Ignoring the issue or pretending it had been dealt with adequately would both play into the hands of the far right.

Starmer talking up his own achievements as DPP in this context doesn't help either. Seems like he's waiting for a pat on the fucking head or something.

the thing is that as his era in office recedes so too does the point in his bringing it up. surely the real issue isn't so much to prosecute in such cases as to prevent them ever occurring in the first place.

 

[cupid_stunt]

the thing is that as his era in office recedes so too does the point in his bringing it up. surely the real issue isn't so much to prosecute in such cases as to prevent them ever occurring in the first place.

His job at the time was to prosecute, now it's to prevent it happening again.

 

[agricola]

the thing is that as his era in office recedes so too does the point in his bringing it up. surely the real issue isn't so much to prosecute in such cases as to prevent them ever occurring in the first place.

As a slight aside, one of the better ways he could respond to Musk (and social media firms in general) is to point out the fact that social media is a factor in a large number of sexual offences involving children and that this has already caused the death of children here in the UK. Any serious attempt to deal with sexual offences where children are victims is going to have to deal with the firms on whose platforms the offences or the preparation of said offences occurs.

 

[pogofish]

Why did it take so long to prosecute? I still don't understand that. It's appalling

Another very pertinent aspect was that many of the victims were from the care system and/or with "difficult"/disturbed backgrounds and other problems/marginalisation who tend to be regarded as poor witnesses, right through the system and often subject to victim-blaming/attributed significant responsibility for their abuse.

Things like this go right back through the years I'm afraid. Back when I worked in schools, I was aware of a case where a child was moved to family in our area and after a period of stabilisation, charges were brought against the abuser but in court, the poor kid just got ripped to shreds for their troubled background/history and some of the relatives beating the living-shit out of the abuser outside the court didn't help either.

So, the case was thrown out, the abuser, effectively exonerated went back to his old ways until becoming very well known a few years later:

Dunblane massacre - Wikipedia

The kid then went completely off the rails and committed suicide a couple of years after that in their early 20s.

 

[danny la rouge]

This whole thing is news to me..not being from the UK.

It’s been discussed on here for many years.

 

[brogdale]

It’s been discussed on here for many years.

Indeed; the Rotherham thread would be a useful read for anyone new to the topic or unsure about why the police were so bad at their job...

Rotherham child rape gangs: At least 1400 victims

The majority White community of course. Were Savile and the others Pakistani? but that in itself's a bit dodge as "white" might be polish, irish, or italian. it's like saying asian, which might be turkish or might be yakut.

www.urban75.net

 

[Sue]

All these fuckers who're suddenly so concerned about the terrible violence inflicted on these girls/young women. Where have they been for the last decade?

(There was one specially terrible Tory on R4 earlier. Jenrick I think.)

 

[brogdale]

All these fuckers who're suddenly so concerned about the terrible violence inflicted on these girls/young women. Where have they been for the last decade?

(There was one specially terrible Tory on R4 earlier. Jenrick I think.)

In Government.

 

[cupid_stunt]

(There was one specially terrible Tory on R4 earlier. Jenrick I think.)

Jenrick is a total prick, who's trying to out do Farage, disgusting creature.