The scandal of the child rape gangs that operated unhindered for so long in British towns continues to shock the world. Thanks in no small part to the tireless work of GB News journalist Charlie Peters, no one can any longer deny the fact that thousands of white British girls—some as young as eleven years old—were systematically groomed, raped and horrifically tortured by groups of mostly Pakistani men.
But for a long time, many people did try to deny the extent of the abuse, including senior officials, politicians and even the police. Even now, nearly twenty years after the crimes first came to light, Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips has refused demands for a Public Inquiry into the crimes that took place in Oldham.
This intervention by Phillips has caught the attention of Elon Musk, whose posts on Twitter/X have now brought the rape gang scandal to world attention. It is clear from the reaction of many online commentators that there is widespread disbelief not only that so many girls were abused but that authorities in Britain could turn a blind eye for so long.
It is indeed hard to believe. But difficult as it is to contemplate the suffering of the children involved, it is very important to understand not only how and why the abuse happened but also how and why the perpetrators were allowed to continue to operate.
Many excellent column inches have been written by others in an effort to provide answers to these questions, particularly focusing on why those in authority were too frightened to pursue the mostly Pakistani male perpetrators for fear of being labelled “racist” or “Islamophobic” or triggering race riots. Writers such as Louise Perry have also highlighted the role that violent internet pornography has played in the stereotyping of white girls as worthless and deserving of sexual abuse.
These contributions are fundamental in helping us to understand the rape gang scandal. But I believe three other peripheral but important factors played a part in covering up the abuse for so long. Firstly, the victims were almost all from deprived backgrounds.
From the exploitation of children down mines and in factories during the Industrial Revolution to the fate of thousands of child prostitutes on the streets of Victorian London, history shows that society often cares very little about the plight of poor children. Oliver Twist might have been a fictitious character, but he epitomised a very real phenomenon.
Contrast the silence of children’s charities and social campaigners on this issue with the justified outrage over the deaths of children because of online harms. This is an issue that strikes fear into the hearts of parents across the social and economic spectrum and has consequently received plenty of attention from those in positions of influence.
Miriam Cates draws attention to three peripheral factors that helped cover up the grooming gangs
GB News/Getty Images
Yet too often, children who are poor – and especially those who cannot rely on their own parents – are ignored. Had the rape gangs in Rotherham, Rochdale and Oldham tried and succeeded in preying on girls from wealthier families, it seems inevitable that those in authority would have taken it far more seriously and the rape gangs would have been prosecuted sooner. Middle-class social workers, teachers, police officers, local councillors and journalists often do not feel the same empathy for children from poor and chaotic backgrounds as they would for their own.
This is perhaps a natural phenomenon, but it is exactly why we have child protection laws such as the age of sexual consent, and safeguarding training that ought to cause those with responsibility for vulnerable children to ask the same questions and take the same protective action as they would have if those children were their own sons or daughters. In the case of the rape gangs, safeguarding training and procedures failed.
A second factor that may have contributed to abuse is the fact that punishments for child sexual abuse in the UK are nowhere near harsh enough. To rape a child is perhaps the most evil and depraved act that anyone could commit. Yet in 2020, the average jail term for adults sentenced for the sexual assault of a child under 13 was just three years and 8 months. With such paltry consequences for one of the worst crimes imaginable, many of the men involved in the rape gangs clearly thought it was worth the risk. Harsh sentences do not prevent all crimes, but if all adults convicted of sexual activity with a child faced decades or even life in prison, there would surely be a deterrent effect.
Lastly, in recent years well-meaning but dangerous ideas about ‘child rights’ have eroded the difference between adults and children. Campaigners have convinced us to see children as autonomous ‘mini adults’ rather than developing human beings who need—and deserve—adult protection, even when they say they don’t want it. And since the sexual revolution, our understanding of sexual ethics has been reduced to the presence or absence of “consent”.
Thanks to the interaction of these two ideas—that children can make informed choices and that sex between any two people is moral as long as there is ‘consent’—those in authority were able to fool themselves into believing that the child victims somehow agreed to sexual activity with their abusers and therefore there no intervention was necessary. In a 2013 interview with BBC Radio 4, former Chief Crown Prosecutor Nazr Afzal alleged that a 2008 Home Office Memo told British Police Forces that “as far as these young girls who are being exploited in towns and cities, we believe they have made an informed choice about their sexual behaviour and therefore it is not for you police officers to get involved in”.
Had the authorities taken the unambiguous position that sex with a child is always wrong, regardless of what the child believes about the relationship, then perhaps many of the victims could have been rescued. The story of the Pakistani rape gangs is one that must be heard.
No doubt, fears of racism allegations were the most important factor in keeping the abuse covered up. But the episode also serves as a tragic reminder that all children—especially those who are poor—are vulnerable to predators. A stronger understanding of child safeguarding and harsher penalties for offenders would be no silver bullets, but both would reduce the likelihood of these appalling crimes being repeated.