Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
AN INVESTIGATION HAS found that at least 1,400 children were exploited in the UK town of Rotherham between 1997 and 2013 and that there was a “collective failure” by authorities to stop the abuse.
The Rotherham Borough Council published a report today which said that it is “hard to describe the appalling nature of the abuse that child victims suffered”.
“They were raped by multiple perpetrators, trafficked to other towns and cities in the north of England, abducted, beaten, and intimidated.”
The inquiry was launched last September to look at how Rotherham Council’s children’s services department dealt with cases involving child exploitation.
The report gives examples of children who had been doused in petrol, threatened with guns and made watch brutally violent rapes. The victims were also told they “would be next if they told anyone”.
Girls as young as 11 were raped by large numbers of male perpetrators, the majority of whom were of Pakistani heritage. The majority of the victims were young girls but there was also a small number of boys involved.
The independent investigation concluded that this abuse is “not confined to the past but continues to this day”.
In May 2014, the caseload of the specialist child sexual exploitation team was 51.
The report says that over the first 12 years covered by the Inquiry, there were “blatant collective failures” of the political and officer leadership. The author, Professor Alexis Jay, also said the council underplayed the scale of the problem and that South Yorkshire Police failed to prioritise the issue.
This is the fourth report into the situation in Rotherham. The first three, completed between 2002 and 2006, also outlined what was happening in the area. Professor Jay believes the reports were “effectively suppressed” and “ignored” by authorities because officers did not believe the data. Council officials were told about the abuse in 2004 but a “macho, sexist and bullying culture” blocked any effective response.
“The authorities involved have a very great deal to answer for,” Professor Jay said in a press conference today.
“From the beginning, there was growing evidence that child sexual exploitation was a serious problem in Rotherham. This came from those working in residential care and from youth workers who knew the young people well,” she adds in the 153-page report.
Five local men were convicted and sent to prison in 2010 for sexual offences against girls.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
If we do not pay full price for our clothes in the west others are compelled to pay it for us.
@Martin O’Rourke: ta luv, Penney’s
How these people live and die- it’s horrific. I am ashamed to admit that sometimes I feel sorry for myself when I think my life is hard. These people do slave labour and their lives are worthless. Hardly anyone has read this article even though it is posted 45 mins ago. And only 1 comment. That says it all don’t you think? Bet nobody will be held accountable for this.
@Annette Hunter: What about this guy?
The building’s owner, Rihan, who goes by one name, was detained on suspicion of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, Mr Mittal said.
@Annette Hunter: I’d say people are trying to comment but their comments like mine were perceived as toxic so wasn’t posted.
May they all rest in peace
It’s a horrible place, no value on life. That other story about that poor girl who was raped and on way to court to testify she was burnt, animals.
Horrific life and horrible death, all to make others money.
Got a whole lot of things for Christmas…..
Keep going to the big shops for cheap clothes, dont worry about the deaths.
Why do we remain complicent to these deaths? Shop for bargains, but check the country of origin tags.
Detaining the building owner is not enough. Brands hiring places like this, with no regard for human life, only to increase their margin profits must be held accountable. Supporting modern slavery is NOT ok, and companies who do need to be exposed.
In gods name what can you say another factory again destroyed by a fire .How sad So who owns it and what are the shops that uses this factory…
@Angela Godfrey Maher: there is a solution much closer to the site. Where are the regulations and enforcement orders in new Delhi? Surely if this type of thing is not illegal then it should be. If it is, why wasnt this place closed down? A govt’s first job is to protect its people. That isn’t Penney’s job or any other retailer buying clothes.
@lambda sensor: yes it is. All clothing sellers need to source products that are ethical. It’s a duty of care.
have your say