The UK-wide grooming gang scandal has highlighted once again that Governments consisting of both main political parties in the UK have failed at their most fundamental objective which is to protect the most vulnerable in society.
Although the increased demand for accountability on the Government should be welcomed, it again takes attention away from the victims, who have been betrayed and sidelined so marginal interests could be protected, with thousands of victims hailing from communities often in the most deprived areas in the UK such as Oldham, Rochdale and Huddersfield.
This scandal was and is completely avoidable and communities across the UK should not have to live in the fear that their Government cannot and will not protect them, as well as local authorities, often led by Labour Councils who have often been complicit in these failings and without major changes the public will continue to doubt whether this deep-rooted problem will be dealt with.
Governments consisting of both Labour and the Conservatives have failed to learn the lessons that the victims and authorities have told them, and they have both botched “national enquiries” into grooming gangs and have attempted to confuse the issue with other such attacks on the most vulnerable in society. It is now time for the Government and authorities to show urgency on the issue and face the reality.
Having lived in India, let me offer a word of warning about Britain’s grooming gangs – Mandhira Kapur Smith
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Having lived in India for most of my life, I also issue a warning that things can get worse if the Government do not take accountability and authority over the issue of the nationwide rape of the most vulnerable in society.
In my home country of India, one rape is reported to the police every 15 minutes, and India witnesses an average of 86 reported rapes a day, these perpetrators are individuals who have been empowered by the failure of the central Government to take accountability for the rape gangs and just like the UK they have pushed the issue onto local authorities who often lack the capabilities and are often corrupted just like the UK.
The warning is that just like in India if the UK Government do not take accountability for the large-scale rape gangs, individuals, as well as gangs, will be empowered to continue the rape of the nation.
There are lessons the UK public can take from India, the problem in India has been exacerbated just as in the UK as local authorities frequently attempt to cover the problem and the scale of the problem up. Just like in India, Government inaction also leads to victims being blamed and parents being blamed for “allowing their daughters out”.
The rape scandal in India is often driven by cultural differences and it is now time for the UK Government to face the reality that there may be underlying cultural issues which drives these rape gangs, or the problem will never be dealt with. All inaction from the central Government does is continue to fail the victims and the time to act is now.
The first step that the Government must take is to announce and carry out a dedicated Public Enquiry that focuses only on the grooming gang scandal rather than confusing it with other such issues, this would go some way to rebuilding confidence in the Government and prove they understand the reality of the problem and its scale and the enquiry should be as transparent as possible from the beginning as this is the only way for the public to also face the reality of the problem.
Practically, major law firms in the UK should be mandated or at least promoted to take this problem head-on and support the public enquiry as many top law firms have also failed to face the reality of the problem and have often failed to give victims the support that is needed to force the state to act. It should also be made public for those law firms who have failed to take on their responsibility to support a public enquiry if mandating is not an option.
Another set of actions that the Government should deliver is the mandating of training on grooming gangs, led by the victims, and this training should be mandated to all local authorities and police forces so the problem can be managed better going forward. The result of inadequate training was evident in India and led to the exacerbation of the problem as only 20 per cent of police officers were trained in managing such cases which led to victims being abandoned and the problem only increasing.
The Government must act now to ensure that we listen and protect the victims who have been consistently failed by the Governments of all sides and to rebuild trust in authorities to protect communities in the UK.