A mother’s desperate plea, “My daughter is being gang raped and sold to countless men,” drew my attention to the organized rape and pimping gangs targeting young girls in northern England, now known as “grooming gangs.”
In the late 1990s, mothers whose daughters had been victimized reached out to me for help after authorities dismissed their concerns and judged the girls and their families.
These girls came from working-class backgrounds, with some living in stable families and others in care, having been victims of previous sexual abuse. The most vulnerable were in care homes, where staff often ignored the men waiting outside for them. These incidents were not hidden; health workers, neighbors, and teachers were aware, yet nothing was done.
These gangs manipulated victims into believing they were their saviors, offering friendship, food, and fun. Victims were then coerced into prostitution and sold to other men by these younger recruiters who would initially gain their trust.
Initial contact often involved taxi drivers, who would target girls from care homes. These drivers received a fee for each girl delivered to the gang members who would exploit and rape them. Despite the organized nature of these gangs, authorities continued to fail to protect these children, displaying a culture of impunity towards the sexual abuse of girls.
The media often simplifies stories like these into issues of race, class, or sex. However, these girls were targeted because they were female, ignored because they were poor, and exploited and then ignored by authorities due to their race and misogynistic assumptions about the behavior of white girls with men of brown skin.
These girls were either blamed or disbelieved, sometimes even prosecuted for being drunk, while the men who harmed them went unpunished. They were not merely deceived; they suffered rape, abuse, and even torture.
Decades later, despite the awareness of organized sexual exploitation, very little has changed. Convictions remain scarce, and there is an ongoing reluctance to address these issues fully, particularly concerning the ethnicity of perpetrators. The authorities still play a role in victim-blaming.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
In the late 1990s, mothers whose daughters had been victimized reached out to me for help after authorities dismissed their concerns and judged the girls and their families.
These girls came from working-class backgrounds, with some living in stable families and others in care, having been victims of previous sexual abuse. The most vulnerable were in care homes, where staff often ignored the men waiting outside for them. These incidents were not hidden; health workers, neighbors, and teachers were aware, yet nothing was done.
These gangs manipulated victims into believing they were their saviors, offering friendship, food, and fun. Victims were then coerced into prostitution and sold to other men by these younger recruiters who would initially gain their trust.
Initial contact often involved taxi drivers, who would target girls from care homes. These drivers received a fee for each girl delivered to the gang members who would exploit and rape them. Despite the organized nature of these gangs, authorities continued to fail to protect these children, displaying a culture of impunity towards the sexual abuse of girls.
The media often simplifies stories like these into issues of race, class, or sex. However, these girls were targeted because they were female, ignored because they were poor, and exploited and then ignored by authorities due to their race and misogynistic assumptions about the behavior of white girls with men of brown skin.
These girls were either blamed or disbelieved, sometimes even prosecuted for being drunk, while the men who harmed them went unpunished. They were not merely deceived; they suffered rape, abuse, and even torture.
Decades later, despite the awareness of organized sexual exploitation, very little has changed. Convictions remain scarce, and there is an ongoing reluctance to address these issues fully, particularly concerning the ethnicity of perpetrators. The authorities still play a role in victim-blaming.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
