Grooming Gangs: Will race always be a factor?

My interest in the crimes committed by ‘grooming gangs’ dates back to the early - 2000s. 

The former Labour MP for Keighley, Ann Cryer, was publicly raising her concern at older Asian men sexually abusing young girls in her West Yorkshire constituency. 

She informed me that she had mothers sat in her office “crying their eyes out”.  They felt “abandoned” by West Yorkshire Police.  

Desperate parents had gathered intelligence on those who they suspected were abusing their daughters. This included names, nicknames, telephone numbers, car registrations, and details of where they worked, mainly local fast-food outlets and taxi firms. 

On one particular occasion, Ms Cryer shared such information with a local imam who was hugely sympathetic, but other community representatives did not necessarily share or match his concern. 

Supporters of the British National Party would hold demonstrations in Keighley holding banners that read “our children are not halal meat”. In the 2005 General Election the then party leader, Nick Griffin, stood (and failed) in his bid to remove Ms Cryer from her position. 

Once the election was over, so was the national media's interest in such a sensitive subject.  It would generally be left to local and regional newspapers, in the North and Midlands, to report on court cases whereby Asian men were convicted of sexual crimes against young girls.  

In 2011 The Times claimed there was a  ‘conspiracy of silence’ over the ‘exploitation and pimping’ of young girls by men predominately of Pakistani background.  Their front page would mark the start of a decade long conversation around “grooming gangs”. 

Pakistani Muslims already under the spotlight due to the ‘War on Terror’ were now facing accusations and suspicions on a different front. 

Before playing a self-appointed community leader on Citizen Khan, Adil Ray travelled to Derby on a “personal journey” to investigate the issue of on-street grooming. 

Furthermore, the Pakistan-born broadcaster, the late Tazeen Ahmad, was praised for her work in her documentary ‘The Hunt for Britain’s Sex Gangs’.  In one scene two men in Sheffield gave her an insight into the grooming process, by telling her that young girls are targeted because they are “easy to take advantage of, they listen, they are vulnerable.”  

In May 2012  Nazir Afzal, the former chief crown prosecutor north-west England, played a crucial role that led to nine men in Rochdale jailed for between four and 19 years, for their part in abusing girls as young as 13.  The fallout from Rochdale led to an increase of Pakistani and wider Muslim figures speaking out.  Up till then,Mohammed Shafiq of the Ramadan Foundation was the lone voice  

The then Conservative Party co-chair Sayeeda Warsi told the London Evening Standard that a minority of Pakistani men viewed young white girls as “fair game” for sexual abuse.  

Other individuals who began to declare their disquiet included, Suniya Qureshi, formerly of the British Pakistan Foundation, Amjad Malik from The Association of Pakistani Lawyers, broadcaster and imam, Ajmal Masroor,former Taliban hostage and ex-Respect Party candidate Yvonne Ridley and Shaista Gohir of the Muslim Women’s Network.   

Ahtsham Ali, Muslim Advisor to the Prison Service (England and Wales), told me that drug-related crime was the primary reason Muslim men found themselves behind bars. He believed “dysfunctional homes” and a “lack of Islamic values and role models” were some of the reasons behind such a trend. 

Julie Siddiqi, the former Executive Director of the Islamic Society of Britain, commented: “Child exploitation is a crime which affects all communities but the number of street-grooming convictions in the past few years involving Omars, Ahmeds and Faisals means the time has come for action.  Silence, denial and conspiracy theories are no longer an option.”  

The use of the term ‘Asian’ to describe those involved and convicted for child sexual exploitation (CSE), sparked a broader debate regarding the variances in integration between the various Asian communities.   

Mass migration from the Indian sub-continent to Britain took place in the 1960s and 1970s. Indians, especially those who arrived via East Africa, are associated with placing greater importance on education.  Their Pakistani and Bangladeshi counterparts can trace their roots to rural, patriarchal societies in Mirpur and Sylhetrespectively.   

Several generations later, children of Indian [and Chinese] origin, consistently outperform those from other ethnic groups. Former teacher turned broadcaster Mehreen Baig explored such a theme in ‘Lost Boys? What’s Going Wrong For Asian Men’.   

Moreover, according to Suniya Qureshi, Indian girls in the UK sought an “education with the blessing of the families.”  She also claimed that a consequence of Indians placing increased importance on marrying within the UK led to greater compatibility between partners and consequently stronger family units.  

However, some believe the ‘Pakistani Bad, Indian Good’ argument is too simplistic. One Bradford councillor of Pakistani background claimed Indians had a “superiority complex” and the gang rape and killing of a student inNew Delhi, showed“no one people or religion has a monopoly on misogyny”.  

In 2019 I travelled to Yorkshire to attend a conference organised by the Bradford-based Together Against Grooming (TAG) group.  During a Q and A session, an individual who described himself as a UKIP member said that Pakistani community had not been vocal on the issue.  

An emotional TAG member, Khalida H Ashrafi, replied: “Look around you, [pointing to a room full of brown Pakistani faces] we do care.” 

The conference line up included several prominent speakers.  

Nazir Afzal accused some in the media of double standards for not giving equal coverage to Asian survivors of CSE.  Journalist Geraldine McKelvie stated that Asian girls in Telford had also been exploited and men of various nationalities, including white British, were involved in the abuse of young girls.  

Imam Alyas Kermani insisted there was “nothing unique” in Pakistani culture that was contributing to on-street grooming.  Instead, a “crisis of masculinity” [on a global level] was the main factor perpetrating such a crime. Holly Archer, a CSE survivor from Telford, was critical of groups like EDL who campaigned only against her Muslim but not non-Muslim abusers. 

‘Nadeem’, an Islamic prison chaplain, described his experiences working with those jailed for sex offences. 

He told me: “These guys have no issues taking drugs, alcohol and abusing young girls, but when it comes to food [in prison], they will insist on their curry being halal!  Something has gone horribly wrong in their teaching of Islam.” 

He added that the “easy availability of pornography” and a lack of [Islamic] sex education was a significant factor in such men holding “unhealthy and corrupt attitudes towards women and sex.” 

 After each CSE scandal from Newcastle and Oxford to Rotherham and Telford, respective police forces and local authorities have been heavily criticised in their failings to prevent young people from being targeted by violent child abusers.  

Former Home Secretary Sajid Javid caused controversy when he said that there would be “no go areas of enquiry” when looking into the ethnic make of on-street grooming gangs. His successor Priti Patel has said that the Government acknowledged that victims had been let down and she was determined to “put this right.” 

Last month the Home Office published its long-awaited report relating to CSE. Its research concluded that grooming gangs came from diverse backgrounds.  

Some believe that the findings were “another attempt at a cover up.”  To others the research confirmed that on-street grooming was not a Muslim problem.  

We have heard from those in positions of power that 'lessons have been learnt' and that CSE is a 'national priority'.   For many victims and survivors actions will speak louder than words.