On April 12, a joint faith group wrote to Suella Braverman KC MP, Secretary of State for the Home Department of the UK government, expressing their views on the ongoing efforts of the government to curb grooming gangs in the country.
The joint faith group extended their support to the ongoing efforts of Home Secretary Suella Braverman to curb the grooming gangs operating around the UK. Calling it a difficult and sensitive matter, the joint faith group praised the MP for courageously speaking on the over-representation of British Pakistani men in sex grooming gangs.
Thank you Lord Singh for your guidance and leadership on this long standing source of pain and shame. Happy to support an initiative which will bring these victims closer to justice and closure. #EnglandsDaughters
— Pt Satish K Sharma MBCS FRSA (@thebritishhindu) April 12, 2023
@SarahChampionMP @MaggieOliverUK https://t.co/VOYbBixcfc
It read, “The evidence contained within a number of independent inquiries – Rotherham, Telford, and Rochdale support her position on what is indeed a sensitive and difficult matter.” The joint faith group pointed out that the evidence based on the previous cases points towards the fact that non-Muslim girls including Hindu, Sikh, and White Christian girls are being systematically targeted in the country. The reason behind targeting them has been mentioned as a ‘form of religiously and racially motivated hatred’ towards non-Muslims.
They added that the act of a “small minority” of Pakistani men who see white girls as fair game, as suggested by Baroness Warsi in a statement, has stained the whole community that is “otherwise a law-abiding community”. “The unfortunate consequence of government and police inaction in protecting victims is the hate-filled narrative of far-right groups, who maliciously and falsely label all Pakistani Muslim men as ‘groomers’. We can’t allow them to hijack the debate with their poisonous and divisive message, nor can we allow political correctness to stifle obtaining justice for victims by addressing the actions of a minority. Indeed, police failures in protecting young girls from grooming gangs have also contributed to rising community tensions in the UK and have negatively impacted social cohesion,” the letter read.
Citing different cases, the group pointed out that the Rotherham survivor confirmed in her statement that she was targeted for being non-Muslim. In a case from Rochdale in 2012, Judge Gerald Clifton made a similar observation while sentencing the culprits. The judge noted the Muslim men had targeted their victims because they were not part of the offenders’ ‘community or religion.’
The joint faith group added the issue of grooming gangs is not a new phenomenon for the country as the Hindu and Sikh communities in the UK have been raising the issue since the 1980s. High-profile cases of Rotherham, Telford, and Rochdale came much later. Furthermore, BBC1’s Inside Out programme in 2013 was the first time media covered Sikh girls being targeted by grooming gangs. The Times also covered the cases in Leicester where several men were sentenced. In 2018, a BBC report was pulled possibly out of “fear of offending the Muslim community”.
The joint faith group further called for more discussions on the cases including that of Telford, Rotherham, and Rochdale. They said these discussions should not be censored by fear of being labeled ‘racist’ or ‘Islamophobic’.
The response was sent on behalf of Lord Singh of Wimbledon, Director, Network of Sikh Organisations, Mohan Singh Khalsa, The Sikh Awareness Society UK, Dal Singh Dhesi, The Sikh Youth Movement UK, Anil Bhanot OBE, Interfaith Relations Director, Hindu Council UK, Pt Satish K Sharma MBCS FRSA, Director, Global Hindu Federation, Vinod Popat, The British Hindu Voice, Hindu Community Organisations Group and Ashish Joshi, The Media Monitoring Group UK.
Speaking to OpIndia, Pt Satish K Sharma said, “According to survivors, this problem is worse today than ever and the refusal to provide such vulnerable victims with even a semblance of justice, is directly attributable to the betrayal of the British Justice system. The lack of political will is clearly attributable to vote bank domination, which if still unacknowledged by Parliamentarians, especially Labour MPs, means no young child is safe in this country unless protected at all times, by parents. I’m hearing on the streets, the question “Of what value is such a Parliament?’ which does not bode well for British democracy.”
UK Government’s action against grooming gangs
On April 3, the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a new Grooming Gangs Taskforce to assist police forces in investigating the serious problem of Muslim grooming gangs in the country. As per the official statement from his office, the task force will have specialist officers to assist in the investigation to ensure the criminals behind grooming gangs will be brought to justice.
The announcement came a day after Home Secretary Suella Braverman lashed out at the previous governments for ignoring the grooming gang menace in the country. Mandatory reporting, as suggested by the Home Secretary, was one of the key recommendations given after an independent inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse cases.
UK Muslim groups upset with Suella Braverman
On April 11, it was reported that Muslim organizations from all around the UK wrote to Rishi Sunak to express their deep concern on what they called home secretary Suella Braverman’s “ill-considered and divisive statement”. Muslim groups called for the withdrawal of the statement immediately. Muslim organisations in England, Wales, and Scotland described it as “an act of collective punishment for the reprehensible acts of a few”.
Nearly 19,000 children were sexually abused in England in 2018-2019
According to the official figures, it is estimated that nearly 19,000 minors in England were sexually groomed in England in the last year, reported Dailymail. The local authorities in England identified around 18,700 suspected victims in 2018-19, up from 3,300 five years ago. The latest figures showed a sharp increase in the number of child grooming victims over the last five years.
The highest rates of child grooming victims in Britain were reported in areas including Birmingham, Lancashire, and Bradford. One of the most horrific cases was of Charlene Downes who disappeared from Lancashire. She was feared to be groomed by Muslim gangs and murdered. Her body was allegedly minced into pieces and served as kebabs to customers at a takeaway restaurant in the area.