When Sajid Javid, as Home Secretary, launched a review into the characteristics of ‘Asian’ grooming gangs in 2018 and boldly declared there would be ‘no no-go areas of inquiry’, many hoped that we’d finally begin to understand this national scandal. We would find out why men involved in street-based sex grooming gangs are so wicked, and why they often seem to target vulnerable white working-class girls.
Is it racially or religiously motivated crime, as indicated by some judges – and increasingly highlighted by victims themselves? Or are there other associated factors, such as the night-time economy? Of course – as journalists who write about this emotive and difficult subject well know – officials and the police appear to have self-censored when it comes to open discussion about the involvement of men of Pakistani heritage, for fear of stirring up community tensions. This was most recently highlighted in a Manchester Child sexual exploitation (CSE) report commissioned by Andy Burnham.
We may never find out the motivations of these grooming gangs because, unsurprisingly, the government has refused to publish the findings of its ‘no no-go areas’ inquiry.
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