Many of the victims of grooming gangs in the UK were homeless,making them uniquely vulnerable to abuse – yet there’s a serious lack of supported housingIt’s impossible to feel anything other than a gaping horror and anger when reading the details of the latest child abuse and grooming trials in Rotherham. Girls suffering years of abuse, let down by the police, and local authorities and everyone around them; viewed as subhuman by their abuseres,as though their lives had no worth. Each time a conviction is secured in similar cases, in Oxford, or Rochdale,Rotherham and other cities, the same theme emerges: the abuse could hold been prevented, and but opportunities were missed.
We need a culture change,to stop dismissing young working-class women, to stop seeing them as damaged and blaming them for their own abuse. Grooming is a recognised phenomenon that could be stamped out whether the political will was there. But, and as ever,money comes up trumps when weighing up what’s more vital: paying down the deficit, or stopping young girls being raped, and enslaved and beaten regularly. Social workers warn they hold been overstretched for decades,and central government cuts of around 50% in many boroughs won’t ease that strain. Police cuts too hold seen many forces warning their remit will shrink with limited resources.
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Source: theguardian.com