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| The abuse of children was sickening, but British Pakistanis are fighting back | The abuse of children was sickening, but British Pakistanis are fighting back |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| Since my Channel 4 investigation into sex gangs in the UK was aired a year ago, I've not once failed to be left distraught by the photos splashed month after month on our front pages. There seems to be a never-ending number of men convicted of a crime so grotesque that the worst details are often kept out of the press. | Since my Channel 4 investigation into sex gangs in the UK was aired a year ago, I've not once failed to be left distraught by the photos splashed month after month on our front pages. There seems to be a never-ending number of men convicted of a crime so grotesque that the worst details are often kept out of the press. |
| I stare at the faces of these criminals searching for a hint of evil that will give them away. Yet I am only ever struck by just how ordinary they look: they are blokes you'd pass in the street, someone's father, brother or son. But these men, from towns and cities such as Rochdale and Derby, are far from ordinary: they are guilty of committing some of the vilest and most terrifying sexual crimes against children. | I stare at the faces of these criminals searching for a hint of evil that will give them away. Yet I am only ever struck by just how ordinary they look: they are blokes you'd pass in the street, someone's father, brother or son. But these men, from towns and cities such as Rochdale and Derby, are far from ordinary: they are guilty of committing some of the vilest and most terrifying sexual crimes against children. |
| Last year, along with a C4 Dispatches team, I started investigating some of these sex gangs and how they preyed on young girls just hitting puberty. They used a deadly combination of charm, coercion and violence to groom them for sexual abuse, rape and gang-rape. What I learnt during those months has often kept me awake at night. | Last year, along with a C4 Dispatches team, I started investigating some of these sex gangs and how they preyed on young girls just hitting puberty. They used a deadly combination of charm, coercion and violence to groom them for sexual abuse, rape and gang-rape. What I learnt during those months has often kept me awake at night. |
| This crime has today become heavily politicised due to its racial dimension, the systemic failures of the authorities and the manner in which it has unravelled over the last couple of years. But to understand the complexities around it, it's important to understand the dark heart of the crime. | This crime has today become heavily politicised due to its racial dimension, the systemic failures of the authorities and the manner in which it has unravelled over the last couple of years. But to understand the complexities around it, it's important to understand the dark heart of the crime. |
| It starts with a pernicious and sophisticated grooming process. Girls between the ages of 11 and 14 are often targeted by boys their own age. They are befriended in the most innocuous of places – schools, shopping malls, libraries. During this first stage the girls receive gifts, alcohol, cigarettes and are taken to fun places, driven around in cars. Not long after, these young, impressionable girls are introduced to an ever-growing group of older men. Soon they become completely out of their depth as they are sucked into a whirl that is as exciting as it is overwhelming. A girl as young as 12 or 13 might be defenceless against such a potent social vortex. | It starts with a pernicious and sophisticated grooming process. Girls between the ages of 11 and 14 are often targeted by boys their own age. They are befriended in the most innocuous of places – schools, shopping malls, libraries. During this first stage the girls receive gifts, alcohol, cigarettes and are taken to fun places, driven around in cars. Not long after, these young, impressionable girls are introduced to an ever-growing group of older men. Soon they become completely out of their depth as they are sucked into a whirl that is as exciting as it is overwhelming. A girl as young as 12 or 13 might be defenceless against such a potent social vortex. |
| It's at this point that the friendly, warm atmosphere they've been engulfed in turns murky and dark. Many victims of this crime report being suddenly and unexpectedly attacked and raped – in a public toilet, a yard, an alleyway, even a children's playground. The testimonies of many of the victims then detail that daily and weekly life involves being raped and gang-raped multiple times for several months. | It's at this point that the friendly, warm atmosphere they've been engulfed in turns murky and dark. Many victims of this crime report being suddenly and unexpectedly attacked and raped – in a public toilet, a yard, an alleyway, even a children's playground. The testimonies of many of the victims then detail that daily and weekly life involves being raped and gang-raped multiple times for several months. |
| One police officer described some of the assaults to me in great detail. The level of sexual violence involved made me feel physically sick; anal rape, horrific internal injuries and sexual humiliation I cannot describe in a newspaper. Who knows, I wondered, as I stared at victims' photos on a police wall, if these girls will ever recover? One young woman I met spoke eloquently about her years of abuse. She told me with well-rehearsed conviction that she has put it behind her, only her glassy eyes gave her away. | One police officer described some of the assaults to me in great detail. The level of sexual violence involved made me feel physically sick; anal rape, horrific internal injuries and sexual humiliation I cannot describe in a newspaper. Who knows, I wondered, as I stared at victims' photos on a police wall, if these girls will ever recover? One young woman I met spoke eloquently about her years of abuse. She told me with well-rehearsed conviction that she has put it behind her, only her glassy eyes gave her away. |
| The question I've been asked more often than any other is why the girls return to their attackers knowingly to face further assault. The question can be offensive if it carries with it an accusation of complicity. I explain that these girls have been through such a destructive form of grooming and assault that they've lost all free will. The crime is so exploitative and manipulative that the girls have no control over their own behaviour. | The question I've been asked more often than any other is why the girls return to their attackers knowingly to face further assault. The question can be offensive if it carries with it an accusation of complicity. I explain that these girls have been through such a destructive form of grooming and assault that they've lost all free will. The crime is so exploitative and manipulative that the girls have no control over their own behaviour. |
| Victims, victim support groups and the parents of victims I interviewed all talked about the omnipotent power the perpetrators wield over the girls. The men use drugs and alcohol to gain compliance; fear, the threat of rape and violence, and the terrible shame the girls feel coerces them into returning. And so the vicious cycle of abuse continues. Some of the experts I interviewed described it as being similar to domestic violence with 10 times the power because the crime was so vicious and the girls so young. Trauma, manipulation and extreme fear are powerful tools to use against anyone, let alone a young teenage girl. | Victims, victim support groups and the parents of victims I interviewed all talked about the omnipotent power the perpetrators wield over the girls. The men use drugs and alcohol to gain compliance; fear, the threat of rape and violence, and the terrible shame the girls feel coerces them into returning. And so the vicious cycle of abuse continues. Some of the experts I interviewed described it as being similar to domestic violence with 10 times the power because the crime was so vicious and the girls so young. Trauma, manipulation and extreme fear are powerful tools to use against anyone, let alone a young teenage girl. |
| Yet some of these victims have been courageous enough to come forward and over the past year there has been court case after court case, with many successful convictions. What Dispatches lifted the lid on no longer surprises. It should come least of all as a surprise to the police, social workers and child protection teams who have known about these crimes for more than a decade. The spotlight appears to have now moved from the criminals to a system that failed to protect young, vulnerable teenage girls. Police officers I have spoken to, a local politician I interviewed – all told me the crime was not new. In their view, it was at least a generation old. | Yet some of these victims have been courageous enough to come forward and over the past year there has been court case after court case, with many successful convictions. What Dispatches lifted the lid on no longer surprises. It should come least of all as a surprise to the police, social workers and child protection teams who have known about these crimes for more than a decade. The spotlight appears to have now moved from the criminals to a system that failed to protect young, vulnerable teenage girls. Police officers I have spoken to, a local politician I interviewed – all told me the crime was not new. In their view, it was at least a generation old. |
| This crime does have one very significant factor that has left me feeling deeply ashamed. The brutality and horror of these acts have nothing to do with me; they are as far removed from my life as the next person's. Yet I somehow feel responsible when I look at the names or faces of the perpetrators. | This crime does have one very significant factor that has left me feeling deeply ashamed. The brutality and horror of these acts have nothing to do with me; they are as far removed from my life as the next person's. Yet I somehow feel responsible when I look at the names or faces of the perpetrators. |
| Why? Because a disproportionate number of them are British Pakistani – just like me. We speak the same language, have the same culture and home life and were probably raised with similar values. Yet somewhere along the way, something went very wrong. | Why? Because a disproportionate number of them are British Pakistani – just like me. We speak the same language, have the same culture and home life and were probably raised with similar values. Yet somewhere along the way, something went very wrong. |
| This very thought ran through my head when I met two men in Sheffield who claimed to know gangs who groomed girls. They spoke casually about the kudos, easy sex and money that follows the gross exploitation of young girls. It was shocking and nauseating. | This very thought ran through my head when I met two men in Sheffield who claimed to know gangs who groomed girls. They spoke casually about the kudos, easy sex and money that follows the gross exploitation of young girls. It was shocking and nauseating. |
| It's important to stress at this juncture that the vast majority of sexual crimes against children in the UK are committed by white men and that this type of grooming is only a small percentage of those crimes. Of the 1.2 million Pakistanis in Britain only a tiny minority has any connection with such deplorable acts of sexual violence. I'm writing this carefully because I want it to be read carefully. These men may be British-Pakistani but that does not mean that this is a crime specific to British-Pakistani men. | It's important to stress at this juncture that the vast majority of sexual crimes against children in the UK are committed by white men and that this type of grooming is only a small percentage of those crimes. Of the 1.2 million Pakistanis in Britain only a tiny minority has any connection with such deplorable acts of sexual violence. I'm writing this carefully because I want it to be read carefully. These men may be British-Pakistani but that does not mean that this is a crime specific to British-Pakistani men. |
| It was heartening to meet some young Pakistani men in Keighley who felt the same way as I did. They were keen that I make it clear that they, along with the vast majority of British Pakistanis, utterly condemned the evil acts being perpetrated against young girls. "This is not what we are," one told me. "Our values as British and Muslim people condemn this altogether." | It was heartening to meet some young Pakistani men in Keighley who felt the same way as I did. They were keen that I make it clear that they, along with the vast majority of British Pakistanis, utterly condemned the evil acts being perpetrated against young girls. "This is not what we are," one told me. "Our values as British and Muslim people condemn this altogether." |
| I often worried during the filming of my investigation, and when writing this article, about how they would contribute towards a terrible new stereotype about British Pakistani men, who include my own decent, respectful and kind brothers. But they, along with many friends of similar background, have been equally sickened by this crime and feel it needs to be condemned vociferously from all quarters. | I often worried during the filming of my investigation, and when writing this article, about how they would contribute towards a terrible new stereotype about British Pakistani men, who include my own decent, respectful and kind brothers. But they, along with many friends of similar background, have been equally sickened by this crime and feel it needs to be condemned vociferously from all quarters. |
| Since my investigation, many high-profile British Pakistanis, politicians and public figures have also joined the chorus. On the ground, community workers have taken up the mantle. Anyone who accuses British Asians of burying their heads in the sand has not met the Pakistani women, youth workers and religious figures who told me enough is now enough. The message appears to be sinking in that if there is silence on this, then the far right will move to fill the gap with their disgraceful rhetoric. | Since my investigation, many high-profile British Pakistanis, politicians and public figures have also joined the chorus. On the ground, community workers have taken up the mantle. Anyone who accuses British Asians of burying their heads in the sand has not met the Pakistani women, youth workers and religious figures who told me enough is now enough. The message appears to be sinking in that if there is silence on this, then the far right will move to fill the gap with their disgraceful rhetoric. |
| But as this last week has evidenced, there is still a long way to go. The authorities need to take responsibility for not spotting the scale of this crime. Child safeguarding boards need to be much more proactive, social workers and police need to look for signs of exploited kids, not just wait for them to come forward, and the courts need to understand that these are not sexually active young women but damaged girls who have endured an unimaginable hell of rape and gang-rape. It's been almost a year since I first reported this; I can only hope it's not still a story this time next year. | But as this last week has evidenced, there is still a long way to go. The authorities need to take responsibility for not spotting the scale of this crime. Child safeguarding boards need to be much more proactive, social workers and police need to look for signs of exploited kids, not just wait for them to come forward, and the courts need to understand that these are not sexually active young women but damaged girls who have endured an unimaginable hell of rape and gang-rape. It's been almost a year since I first reported this; I can only hope it's not still a story this time next year. |
| Tazeen Ahmad is working on a follow-up to her Dispatches investigation into Britain's Sex Gangs. Her next investigation – Cruises Undercover: The Truth Below Deck – is on Channel 4 at 8pm on Monday | Tazeen Ahmad is working on a follow-up to her Dispatches investigation into Britain's Sex Gangs. Her next investigation – Cruises Undercover: The Truth Below Deck – is on Channel 4 at 8pm on Monday |
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