UK & World News
- 27 September 2012, 19:22
Missed Chances In Rochdale Sex Abuse Scandal
Social services and police ignored the cries of vulnerable girls who were being sexually abused in Rochdale, a report into the scandal which saw nine men jailed reveals.
The review, by Rochdale's Safeguarding Children Board, details how authorities wrote off the complaints by abused teenagers, believing they were "making their own choices".
Five girls, aged between 13 and 15, were given alcohol, food and money by a gang of Asian men in return for sex and there were times when violence was used.
A chance to stop the nine men, who were jailed in May, was missed in 2008 by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the report said.
The first victim, who was 15 when the abuse began, told the police what had been happening to her in August 2008 but her case was not taken seriously and she continued to suffer abuse for another four months.
Richard Scorer, a solicitor for some of the abused girls, said it was "very likely" they would be taking legal action against the authorities for failing to protect them.
The report said: "Overall, child welfare organisations missed opportunities to provide a comprehensive, co-ordinated and timely response and, in addition, the criminal justice system missed opportunities to bring the perpetrators to justice."
Social workers, police and the CPS came under fire for "deficiencies" in the case and the failure was blamed on the "patchy" training of frontline staff.
Rochdale Council said it has used the review's findings to implement a series of changes including staff training on sexual exploitation awareness, better co-ordination between different agencies and more manpower for the child sex abuse team.
Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk said: "Some months ago I spoke in Parliament about the appalling attitudes shown by Rochdale social workers in blaming the young victims of rape for their abuse.
"The independent Safeguarding Board's investigation confirms this culture within Rochdale Council ...
"What this report shows is that young girls' cries for help were systematically ignored and I'm in no doubt that the poor response by council services would have emboldened the criminals to make them think they could carry on abusing with impunity."
He added: "They knew the girls had been to the police and social services and because nothing happened they must have thought 'we can get away with raping girls for as long as we want'. This report only looks at one case and clearly shows a culture of neglect."
what do you think?
Mike Webster
Inn certain sectarian groups, women are regarded as property, in the same class as animals, and until this attitude can be educated out , these sorts of problems will continue to recur. The organisations charged with looking after vulnerable girls (and boys) should do well to recognise this
Mick Daniel
This behaviour should be educated out AND the perpetrators and their familes removed from this country with no chance of appeal. Those who preach racial harmony and integration also carry much of the blame
Chris Robinson
I can't believe what you said about those who preach racial harmony and integration...you're married to an Indian woman!!! Beggars belief.
Chris Robinson
Hey Mike, have a word with Justin Lee Collins, oh, and the bloke who blinded his ex. And if you dig a bit deeper into the files, you'll see the common thread is some men's attitudes, of all races, to women, of all races.
gengisken1227
You know what; in asian society, their children are more protected especially daughters; the children in turn, have more respect for, and obey their parents. You never see a young asian girl wearing her skirt up round her waist nor in the streets after dark. So asian men have accurately concluded they are easy meat - so you can blame them and rightly. However you can also blame liberal, feminist driven politics that has degraded the western family unit and regards a father's authority as a form of oppression which as a consequence leaves leaves decision making in the hands of the children - who wander into trouble.
Adj Jackson
This comment has been removed for violations of our Terms and Conditions.
Dave Harrison
Very true Gengis. The Asian men in question are culpable for their actions and have been jailed accordingly. My gripe is with the mainly white authorities who are so terrified of upsetting race sensitivities that they allowed this to continue despite knowing all about it just because of the skin colour of the perpetatators
ali baba
Dave why are you bringing race into this, this problem is a worldwide problem, with every race involved. Russians, Eastern Europeans, Asians, Europeans etc. look how many British men are in Thailand.
Mick Daniel
Hang your head in shame
Chris Robinson
More protected? Even those young women who are forced into marriages, Gengis. And so what if any young woman wants to wear a short skirt? This does not give anyone permission to abuse them - or as you put it - 'accurately conclude they are easy meat'. So you're for 'family values'? And it's all the fault of liberal, feminist-driven politics? Yet a good proportion of sex abusers are, in fact, those very fathers whose authority you wish to re-claim.
Dave Harrison
Ali. Why not comment on the specific problem we have in this country rather than try and justify it by highlighting what allegedly goes on elsewhere in the world
Dave Harrison
The current story in the headlines is all about British Police moving heaven & earth to find 2 people who want to be together. Now we hear that when the authorities were told about the real sexual abuse of children that was going on in Rochdale it was quietly ignored. Who says the racial sensitivities card doesn't trump everything because from where I am standing it does.
ali baba
utter rubbish, keep blaming foreigners, some people should look around and see the world is in a mess cause collectively we have messed it up.i ask you something when the British colonized India and did the same kinda thing to there kids, also in Africa . did you use the race card that you were superior and allowed.
Dave Harrison
Ali. Keep taking the tablets as they don't seem to be working yet. You want it both ways. Many Asians regard themselves as British having been here for so long but you want them labelled as foreigners when it suits you
ali baba
Dave maybe i will give you some tablets and you will cheer up and stop blaming everyone but yourself :) these foreigners who come here and call themselves British are clueless. its brainwashing to think the more west you are the better you are. never understood that. as an Englishman who lets say has lived in India or Africa for a few generations would not call himself Indian or African. i am Iranian and will always be Iranian, but my country of residence is england.
ali baba
also Dave i was referring to sex with under age children being a worldwide problem. and you cant just label one race being worse then others. does Gary Glitter ring a bell.
Emma Scott
Dave, really sorry. I pressed 'thumbs down' in error. I don't disagree with your opinion at all. Sorry! X
Chris Robinson
Two people who want to be together, Dave, yes. But it so happens the girl is underage and the teacher has clearly abused his position of trust. By degree, it's not as 'serious' as the Rochdale case, chances are the teacher will go to prison for upto a year, will never teach again, and the young woman in question will possibly 'wait' for him, by which time their relationship will be legal.
Chris Robinson
Rightly, these men have been convicted for their vile crimes, but, as was exhaustively debated when the story first appeared, I believe it has nothing to do with race and everything to do with, obviously, sex abuse and exploitation of young, vulnerable women. There's been plenty of cases of sex abuse of young women in care , to quote just one - the infamous North Wales children's homes abuse in the 1980s/1990s is well documented, perpetrated by a paedophile ring of white men which went on for years.
Chris Robinson
What's happened here has been a total breakdown and neglect of 'duty of care' and 'duty to protect'. Mainly, it was deemed by social services that these young women were competent enough to 'make their own choices' - which is clearly ridiculous as they were obviously vulnerable, which was presumably the main reason they were in care.
Chris Robinson
Clearly, the gradual cuts to adequate awareness training - which has been described as 'patchy' - I would say grievously inadequate myself, and a lack of enough frontline staff plus the failure of police to take this seriously - when one woman tried to make a staement on video the policeman was seen to be yawning, plys a major role. It's not just the likes of the perpetrators who label young women in care as 'easy meat'.
Chris Robinson
To reiterate, sex abuse and exploitation of children is NOT the exclusive domain of whatever race you are, it's about the attitude of some men towards women. The authorities do not turn a blind eye to perpetrators because of their race but because of their inadequate management, monitoring and training systems. To think that the authorities are saying 'let's not investigate so and so because we might be accused of racism' is simply not true and only opens the door for the likes of such blatantly prejudicial statements put out by the likes Emma Barrett (above) which is clearly unreal and inaccurate, to say the least.
Michael Booth
I just hope ALL Social Service departments up and down the Country are looking into this problem as a ongoing investigation Lessions must be learnt. We must stop belittling our SS after every disaster, yet Council budgets are being cut all the time. Not good enough!
Emma Barrett
whenever there is crime commited against whites from non-whites, it is ignored or overlooked by the government, police and social services. in fact i have read cases where people reporting crimes commited by asians have been told by the police that THEY will be the ones arrested if they repeat the allegations! just shows how completely messed up this country is.
Chris Robinson
'Whenever there is a crime committed against whites from non-whites, it is ignored or overlooked by the govt, police and social services'. What utter tripe.
Emma Barrett
chris, you need a serious reality check. i hate people like you with a passion.
Dave Harrison
Emma. I don't think you are being fair when you claim crimes against white people by non whites are ignored. Where I do agree with you however is that where crime is committed by non whites the authorities take an entirely different approach with political correctness & racial sensitivities coming higher than justice.
Chris Robinson
But that's exactly what you're about, Emma, hate. Not an ounce of reason, just hate.
Chris Robinson
And Dave, I don't think the authorities take a different view towards minorities. Proportionately, there are more non-white people in prison than white people and more black and Asian youths are stopped and searched on the streets than white people, so I have to disagree with you on that particular point.
Dave Harrison
Hiya Chris Keeping well ? I think we will just have to disagree on that one. I firmly believe the authorities do treat certain people differently because of concerns about the repercussions. And as far as the make up of prison populations are concerned could it possibly be that the jobless, downtrodden disadvantaged non whites commit more crime ??
Chris Robinson
Hello Dave. I'm well thanks, you? Yes, it could be that they commit more crime, maybe because they are also more likely to be unemployed but that's another workshop. But whether or not I'm right or wrong on that one, it's clear the authorities don't hold back from prosecuting people from minorities as Emma (my new fan, who has a deep passion for me) wrongfully insists.
Gavin Freeborn
I know if i put what i want to about all of this it will get deleted so i will just leave it that
Mick Daniel
When will action be taken against this dispicable community. The racialism card needs to be torn out and the police go after these people with vengence.
Qaisar Sarfraz
Who are you talking about asians or paedophiles? If its the latter then I dont think many will disagree, if its the former than thats simply rascist. What do you propose target a whole community because of the actions of a few.
Dave Harrison
Mick. It isn't right to brand a whole community because of the actions of a few. Where I have a problem is the police treating people differently because they are from an ethnic minority. Whatever happened to the mantra of all equal under the law?
Emma Barrett
This comment has been removed for violations of our Terms and Conditions.
Chris Robinson
'Liberalite government'? Oh, now I know 'where' you're coming from.
Chris Robinson
And, my God, (speaking as an atheist), Emma. You're clearly hugely misinformed or you are blatantly lying.
Chris Robinson
Dear me, Emma, stop inventing outlandish lies.
Mick Daniel
Qaisar - I am far from being a racialist, I have been married for over 30 years to a wonderful Indian lady. Why the whole community - I don't here a word of condemnation from the leaders, any familes or anyone from this community. If I see or hear anybody of Pakistan origin speaking out loudly in the press and on TV against what has happened, I may be prepared to change my mind. My thoughts are with the poor children whose lives have been destroyed by these animals
Qaisar Sarfraz
Mick I dont have a problem with these guys going down because frankly they deserve it. I do have a problem with persecution or scapegoating of a particular community through decisive comments such as yours. Who you are married to doesn't matter as you can still have discriminatory viewpoints.
Chris Robinson
Well, Mick, you don't hear a word because the media don't give a full platform - I've heard many people from that community, including some community leaders, condemn such vile behaviour - unfortunately on radio phone-ins in the middle of my night shift.
Nadia Ahmed
Mick, I struggle to follow your logic... I am of Pakistani origin and I find the actions of these individuals despicable. Other than to reply to your comment, I haven't spoken out loud against the actions of these men or of other individuals in the news at times whose actions I also disagree with. I don't see why this means that I, or others like me, should be condemned. I empathise with the innocent victims of this ordeal as much as any other person reading this horrific story and believe justice should be served to the perpetrators.
stephen
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Alex Mcnee
When will the news agencies, stop calling them ASIAN, these people are Pakistani / Bangladeshi and Afgans, in this world of political correctness, to relate to them by the term "Asian! is racist towards other Peoples of the East, If I were Chinese / Indian / Japanese / Cambodian / Burmese / Vietnamese / or from any other country in that region, I would bring court action under racial discrimination, to stop them from associating me from vile child groomers, people will think that all Asians are peadophilic, so message to News agencies......Use correct wording and catergorise accordingly !
Dave Harrison
Alex..In this multicultural, racially harmonious, politically correct country of ours you haven't got a snowballs chance
james stevenson
The reason is clear for all to see, they were frightened of being( see John Terry article)
joelle cooke
The Police did not take this case seriously.nor all the other girls age13-15 getting raped by older Man,much older than Megan's Partner,the social service even call them Prostitutes,age 12-15 keep in mind,it seem no one gives a monkey about those poor young girls,but now we are chasing after a couple who want appreciate our affort to find them,instead of saving all the Girls in the UK we wast our energy on a happy Couple !!what a twisted World
Adj Jackson
Cant post comments on here the PC brigade delete them so will just say well Im lost for words cant think of something nice to say about the disgusting behaviour. Quick read ppl it wont be here long will be deleted
t.bulgin
Social workers are a complete waste of space. Time and again they let the people that they are supposed to protect down. They allways say that "lessons have been learned" but they never have. Never. Go away socilal workers you are useless idiots.
davethedalek
Totally correct! They are governed by their 'First Directive' of letting the children learn by their mistakes, backed up by their Christian philosophy of not speaking harshly to them as it is seen as authoritarian. Total wrong!
Dave Harrison
t.b. Bit harsh on some of them but after my experiences of social workers I am in broad agreement with your views
Chris Robinson
The sheer hypocrisy of the likes of t.bulgin who supports the cuts right across the public sector - carping on about public sector 'non-jobs' - well, welcome to the results of those cuts - a lack of training, a lack of enough staff, experienced social workers leaving, new ones entering the profession not properly trained, corners are getting cut to save your precious Tory/LibDem/Labour supporting millionaires.
Chris Robinson
When my daughter's mother became a social worker in the 1990s in child protection, she was told everyone had a maximum of 15 cases to manage because of the complexities etc. Within 8 months she had 35 live cases, that was then. Now it's even worse. Small wonder standards have dropped and children are at risk. Yet you still support these cuts even though children's lives are at risk. You can't have it both ways.
Name witheld
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Chris Robinson
Like I said, you can't have it both ways.
Tricky One
Massively underfunded and under trained and over worked pls stop commenting on stories you clearly know less than nothing about.
Michael Booth
There was a Pakistanie lad on the news last night who said "There are SOME elements in the Pakistanie community who teat all women as second class people, including their own wives and daughters. I'm treated as a third class person because I won't wear a scarf. White girls are FOURTH class people!" Is this kind of attitude we can expect from allowing the spread of Multicuturalism?
Michael Booth
I meant a Pakistanie lady!
Chris Robinson
Yes. And the operative word is 'SOME'. There are always backward elements in ALL communities.
Michael Booth
Yes Chris, the lady was careful not to include ALL Pakistanie men in what she was saying. However that fact that she felt the need to acknowledge that these element do exist is worrying enough
Chris Robinson
Of course, the very presence of predators in ANY community is worrying.
Ben
Everyone wanted the job of an mp for calling a police officer a pleb, yet there will be no media witch hunt of the officers involved in this case.
Name witheld
9:55am on 27/9/2012
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