Grooming ‘epidemic’ as almost 19,000 children identified as sexual exploitation victims in England

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Almost 19,000 children have been sexually groomed in England in the past year, according to official figures that have prompted warnings of an “epidemic”.

Campaigners say the true figure is far higher and accused the government of failing to tackle child sexual exploitation, despite promises made after high-profile cases in Rotherham and Rochdale.

More than 18,700 suspected victims of child sexual exploitation were identified by local authorities in 2018-19, up from 3,300 five years before.

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Sarah Champion, the Labour MP for Rotherham, said the figures show that grooming “remains one of the largest forms of child abuse in the country”.

“Too many times, government has said it will ‘learn lessons’, yet 19,000 children are still at risk of sexual exploitation,” she told The Independent.

Shape Created with Sketch. UK news in pictures Show all 51 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. UK news in pictures 1/51 28 December 2019 The Harlequins players arrive at the stadium prior to the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Big Game 12 match between Harlequins and Leicester Tigers at Twickenahm Stadium Getty Images for Harlequins 2/51 27 December 2019 A car drives through floodwater near Harbridge, north of Ringwood in Hampshire, after the river Avon burst its banks PA 3/51 26 December 2019 Participants in the Old Surrey and West Kent Boxing Day Hunt in Chiddingstone. Hunting with horses and hounds is a Boxing Day tradition. 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Hunting with horses and hounds is a Boxing Day tradition. Since the fox hunting ban in 2004, modified hunts take place using scented trails for the animals to follow EPA 4/51 25 December 2019 Swimmers of the Serpentine Swimming Club take part in the Peter Pan Cup race, which is held every Christmas Day at the Serpentine, in central London PA 5/51 24 December 2019 Shoppers bid for cuts of meat during a Christmas Eve auction in Smithfield market in London EPA 6/51 23 December 2019 Reggie the dog is rescued with a boat from flooding at the Little Venice Country Park and Marina in Maidstone AFP via Getty 7/51 22 December 2019 People gather at Stonehenge in Wiltshire to mark the winter solstice, and to witness the sunrise after the longest night of the year PA 8/51 21 December 2019 Southampton's Jack Stephens scores their second goal against Aston Villa Reuters 9/51 20 December 2019 The coffin arrives for the funeral of London Bridge terror attack victim Jack Merritt at Great St Mary's Church in Cambridge PA 10/51 19 December 2019 Queen Elizabeth II and her son Prince Charles walk behind the Imperial State Crown as they proccess through the Royal Gallery, before the Queen's Speech, during the State Opening of Parliament AFP via Getty 11/51 18 December 2019 Luke Jerram's art installation 'Gaia', a replica of planet earth created using detailed Nasa imagery of the Earth's surface, hangs on display at the Eden Project in St Austell, Cornwall PA 12/51 17 December 2019 A surfer gets into the festive spirit at the inland surfing lagoon at The Wave, near Bristol PA 13/51 16 December 2019 Snowy conditions near Deepdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park as snow hits parts of the UK PA 14/51 15 December 2019 Oisin Carson, 5, picks a Christmas tree at Wicklow Way Christmas tree farm in Roundwood PA 15/51 14 December 2019 First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, takes a selfie as she joins the SNPs newly elected MPs for a group photo outside the V&A Museum in Dundee, Scotland Getty Images 16/51 13 December 2019 Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds arrive back at Downing Street after the results for the general election were announced. The Conservative Party won with an overall majority EPA 17/51 12 December 2019 A dog outside a polling station during the general election in Northumberland Reuters 18/51 11 December 2019 Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson stands between a Stop Brexit sign as she attends a general election campaign event at Esher Rugby Club, south west London. Britain will go to the polls tomorrow to vote AFP via Getty 19/51 10 December 2019 A surfer off the North East coast at Tynemouth PA 20/51 9 December 2019 Leah Rossiter (left) and Ceara Carney, dressed as mermaids, join members of the Irish Wildlife Trust and Extinction Rebellion Ireland protesting outside Leinster House in Dublin, against overfishing in Irish Waters PA 21/51 8 December 2019 Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn poses for selfies with supporters at a general election rally in Colwyn Bay, north Wales AFP via Getty 22/51 7 December 2019 Speedo Mick outside the stadium before the Premier League match between Everton and Chelsea at Goodison Park Action Images via Reuters 23/51 6 December 2019 A climate activist wearing a mask and holding a placard reading 'Fossil fuel era is over' outside Millbank Studios in London AP 24/51 5 December 2019 SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon with the SNP campaign bus in front of the Queensferry Crossing, while on the General Election campaign trail in Scotland PA 25/51 4 December 2019 The Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square, which is given every year by the city of Oslo as a token of Norwegian gratitude to the people of London for their assistance during the Second World War PA 26/51 3 December 2019 Protesters against the visit of US President Trump during a demonstration near Buckingham Palace on the first day of the Nato Summit in London EPA 27/51 2 December 2019 England captain Joe Root celebrates reaching his double century during day 4 of the second Test match against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton, New Zealand Getty 28/51 1 December 2019 A hard frost is seen on the first day of the meteorological winter in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters 29/51 30 November 2019 A police officer looks at flowers left at London Bridge in central London, after a terrorist wearing a fake suicide vest who went on a knife rampage killing two people, and was shot dead by police PA 30/51 29 November 2019 School children and students take part in the Youth Strike for Climate in London as part of the Fridays for Future Global Climate Strike Angela Christofilou/The Independent 31/51 28 November 2019 Cyclists make their way up a tree lined hill near to Moor Crichel in Dorset. November's dismal weather will finally change, with drier and colder conditions coming for the start of December, forecasters have said PA 32/51 27 November 2019 The moment a swan flew over a flock of 60,000 starlings as dusk fell on Whixall Moss Nature Reserve in Shropshire Andrew Fusek Peters / SWNS 33/51 26 November 2019 SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon plays with local children during a visit to the Jelly Tots & Cookies Play Cafe in Uddingston, South Lanarkshire PA 34/51 25 November 2019 Prime Minister Boris Johnson poses with sheep as he visits the Royal Welsh Showground, in Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, whilst on the General Election campaign trail PA 35/51 24 November 2019 Cush Jumbo attends the 65th Evening Standard Theatre Awards at London Coliseum Getty Images 36/51 23 November 2019 Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn meets a supporter on a train on his return from a visit to Sheffield PA 37/51 22 November 2019 Gallery assistants adjust 'The Ancient Town of Uglich' by Konstantin Yuon, 1913, estimated at £600,000 to £800,000, during a press preview of the sale of works by some of the most pre-eminent creators of Russian art at Sotheby's in London PA 38/51 21 November 2019 A mother seal appears to hug her pup as grey seals return to Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late autumn and winter to give birth PA 39/51 20 November 2019 After Mauricio Pochettino's sacking the eveninfg before newly appointed Tottenham head coach, Jose Mourinho, takes his first training session in charge Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty 40/51 19 November 2019 Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a visit to Jimmy Egan's Boxing Academy at Wythenshawe, while on the campaign trail ahead of the General Election PA 41/51 18 November 2019 Mist over Buttermere lake in the Lake District PA 42/51 17 November 2019 Stefanos Tsitsipas lifts the winners trophy after beating Dominic Thiem at the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament in London EPA 43/51 16 November 2019 Duke of York, speaking for the first time about his links to Jeffrey Epstein in an interview with BBC Newsnight's Emily Maitlis BBC/PA 44/51 15 November 2019 Brazilian indigenous leader, Kreta Kaingang from the Kaingang People, holds a petition letter with over 200,000 signatures asking the UK government to suspend trade talks with Brazil until the Amazon and its people are protected, as he poses outside 10 Downing Street AFP via Getty 45/51 14 November 2019 Spanning all four spaces and the corridor of the White Cube Bermondsey gallery Anselm Kiefer's new exhibition encompasses large-scale painting and installation Rex Features 46/51 13 November 2019 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn wears a pair of mittens that say 'Pick Pam', referring to Labour MP Pam Duncan-Glancy (not pictured) as he visits the Heart of Scotstoun Community Centre in Glasgow Getty 47/51 12 November 2019 Head glass conservator Sam Kelly inspects the Angeli Laudantes and Angeli Ministrantes stained glass windows at Salisbury Cathedral as restoration work to clean, conserve and restore the windows, installed in 1879, gets underway PA 48/51 11 November 2019 Flooding in the village of Fishlake near Doncaster after a month's worth of rain fell in 24 hours PA 49/51 10 November 2019 World War II Supermarine Spitfire fighter performs a flyover over White Cliffs of Dover during Remembrance Sunday celebrations Reuters 50/51 9 November 2019 Snow falling in Glyn Ceiriog near Llangollen in Denbighshire Steffan Williams/PA 51/51 8 November 2019 Scottish National Party candidates, including SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford (centre left) and Nicola Sturgeon (centre), with a Brexit message at the party's General Election campaign launch in Edinburgh PA

“The government has singularly failed to tackle this issue head on. Its approach has been piecemeal and underfunded.”

Sajid Javid promised a review into the characteristics of grooming gangs in 2018, saying high-profile cases included a “high proportion of men of Pakistani heritage” and that “cultural reasons” could be at play.

The Independent understands that the Home Office started internal analysis of data from police and other agencies, and will use it to inform policy development and prevention strategies.

But the findings may not be published and the Queen’s Speech, which set out Boris Johnson's legislative agenda, did not include any mention of a public review.

Department for Education statistics on children referred to social care show the number of known cases dramatically increasing from 2013, when grooming was recorded as an assessment factor for the first time, to a peak of 20,000 in 2017-18.

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Several grooming gang investigations and prosecutions are ongoing across the country, including in Huddersfield where several abusers have already been jailed in a series of linked trials.

In Rotherham, where revelations over the abuse of an estimated 1,500 victims sparked a national scandal in 2012, the National Crime Agency has identified more than 190 suspects.

Sammy Woodhouse, a Rotherham victim who helped expose the scandal, said she is still receiving reports of current abuse in parts of the country.

“You hear this bulls*** line, ‘lessons have been learned’, but they haven’t learned anything,” she told The Independent.

“I still hear a lot about the authorities aren’t doing things as they should. It’s not very often I hear something good and for all different reasons – if the police won’t act on reports, people feel they’re not being listened to or supported properly, or information not being shared.”

Ms Woodhouse, who was abused by rapist Arshid Hussain from the age of 14, said the scale of child sexual exploitation currently reported by local councils did not surprise her.

“I think the most scary thing is all the people it’s happening to that they don’t know about,” she added. “Most won’t report and they go under the radar.

“I’ve said for years that this country’s in epidemic when it comes to abuse and exploitation. Authorities claim it’s under control but it’s not.”

The Department for Education statistics showed that Lancashire recorded the highest number of children (624) as grooming victims out of any single local authority area, followed by Birmingham (490), Surrey (447), Bradford (414) and Gloucestershire (409).

The combined totals of Leeds and neighbouring Bradford, where investigations are ongoing following the imprisonment of nine grooming gang members earlier this year, would be the highest at 649.

Drugs and alcohol are frequently used by grooming gangs to incapacitate girls or coerce them into sex, with the criminality later discouraging victims from going to police.

There are several methods of grooming, with the best-known “boyfriend” model seeing an abusive relationship used to force victims into sex with others.

Children can also be trafficked, befriended online or – in the so-called party – targeted by groups of men who lure them to gatherings with offers of drinks, drugs, money and car rides.

Some sexual exploitation has been linked to criminal gangs, who also pay or force girls to run drugs or keep them in their homes.

In high-profile cases such as Rotherham and Rochdale, perpetrators have been much older than their victims, but police say peer-on-peer abuse by teenagers from the same school or area is more common in some areas.

Simon Bailey, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for child protection, said officers were “committed to doing all we can to pursue and prosecute criminals who exploit and abuse young people”.

“More must be done to stop abuse happening in the first place,” he added. “Those with direct contact with children need to ensure they are keeping them safe from risks through honest conversations, education and appropriate safeguarding.

“Alongside that, internet and social media companies need to acknowledge their responsibility, do more to stop children accessing harmful content and prevent abuse on their platforms.”

Ms Champion called for prevention efforts, including youth clubs, specialist services and sexual health clinics, police and the Crown Prosecution Service to receive more funding.

“We cannot allow grooming to fall out of the spotlight, because sexual exploitation always flourishes in the shadows,” she added.

The Home Office has granted money to large-scale investigations including in Rotherham and Norfolk, and allocated £7m to organisations supporting survivors of child sex abuse for 2019-20.

A spokesperson said: “The Home Office is committed to tackling child sexual abuse and will leave no stone unturned in tackling this abhorrent behaviour.

“This is why we launched the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse to get to the truth, expose what has gone wrong and learn lessons for the future. The inquiry operates independently of government and, within its terms of reference, decides for itself what it investigates.

"The inquiry is investigating institutional responses to child sexual exploitation by organised criminal networks with public hearings set for the spring of 2020.”

In a joint statement, Lancashire Police and County Council said they were “not complacent” about tacking child sexual exploitation.

“We acknowledge that some areas of the county are more at risk and we will continue to work with our partners to protect children, prevent child abuse, help victims and target offenders, ultimately bringing them to justice,” a spokesperson added.

Birmingham Children’s Trust said it was working with the police, NHS, schools and partner organisations to improve the identification of young people at risk.

Gloucestershire County Council said increased awareness of child sexual exploitation had led to the identification of more child victims.

“We will continue to work with the police and other partners including schools, to prevent it and support victims and their families,” it added.

Bradford Council said the number of children assessed as being at risk of grooming was now falling, adding: “We take child sexual exploitation very seriously and have worked with young people, schools and community organisations to raise awareness of this terrible crime.”

robinkak on December 29th, 2019 at 10:54 UTC »

I think we all grossly underestimate the amount of pedophiles there are in the world.

Mzechabuki on December 29th, 2019 at 08:28 UTC »

“Alongside that, internet and social media companies need to acknowledge their responsibility, do more to stop children accessing harmful content and prevent abuse on their platforms.”

I’m sorry but what? I’m the first one to jump usually when it comes to blaming social media for stuff but faulting them over this is absolutely ridiculous.

factsforreal on December 29th, 2019 at 07:57 UTC »

Blimey!

If we assume this has been ongoing for about 20 years, this means that every day about three new victims - children - are showed down this hell-hole of sexual abuse!

And those are the children that we know of. What should we multiply this number by to get the actual number of victims?

This is fucking insane!