Dame Louise Casey’s review on the abuse of young white girls over the last two decades makes for a harrowing read where statutory authorities chose to place the preservation of social cohesion above the safeguarding of many white young girls. There is no getting around the scale and the failures that Casey has raised in her excellent and brutally honest report.
Tell MAMA has previously highlighted how some far right groups have used the child grooming scandals to whip up collective anti-Muslim hate, though this cannot and should not take away from honest and frank discussions as Casey mentions. The child grooming scandals are widespread and have shown inaction and complicity, whether this be through previously elected councillors or local authority officers willing to blame the victimised young children rather than the monstrous middle-aged perpetrators.
Which brings us onto the following. There is nothing anti-Muslim about discussing issues around child sexual exploitation and the ethnicity of perpetrators. Blaming all Muslims as being potential child rapists is one thing, and we previously highlighted such anti-Muslim rhetoric promoted online by far right groups. Speaking about the link that Casey highlighted in areas such as Greater Manchester, West and South Yorkshire and where the majority of group related child grooming activities were undertaken by Asian men of Pakistani heritage, is another thing altogether. The former is anti-Muslim bigotry and the latter, legitimate public debate and discourse which needs to take place.
This is an important distinction and should not stifle legitimate public debate, The lives of many women have been deeply affected by what they endured at the hands of men who preyed on their vulnerabilities. These courageous women deserve to be heard and made the focus for real change so that children are no longer blamed as perpetrators, and the perpetrators let off in the interests of social cohesion.
Commenting on the Casey review, the Director of Tell MAMA, Iman Atta OBE said:
“Evidence alone should determine the basis of challenging prejudice and bigotry where we come across it. Knee-jerk reactionism in the misguided belief of protecting social cohesion and couched as campaigning against anti-Muslim prejudice and bigotry should be given no quarter by any legitimate organisation carrying out this line of work. Calling legitimate discourse on tackling child sexual exploitation ‘anti-Muslim’ bigotry by virtue of the ethnicity of the majority of perpetrators in areas like Greater Manchester does a disservice to the female victims of it and to public confidence in this area of work”.