Over 20 years ago, the Labour MP Ann Cryer, was shunned when she spoke out about Asian grooming gangs.

 

Ann Cryer

One of the first people to draw attention to Asian grooming gangs, was Ann Cryer, the Labour MP for Keighley. In 2002, she became one of the first public figures in Britain to talk publicly about allegations of "young Asian lads" grooming underage white girls for sex in her constituency in West Yorkshire. As a result of what she said, Ann was shunned by many members of her own party - who considered what she said as racist - the police, imam's and social services. She received death threats and Nick Griffin of the BNP, stood against her in Keighley, claiming that she hadn't done enough as the local MP to protect young white girls from sexual exploitation.

Some politicians like the former Conservative Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, who is of Indian origin, have claimed that Pakistani men were predominantly involved in grooming gangs. There have been a number of very high-profile cases involving Asian grooming gangs in places like Rotherham and Rochdale and there were allegations of Asian gangs, grooming young girls for sex in Oldham. In all these places it has also been alleged that there were cover ups involving the police and local politicians.

Despite a number of public inquiries into grooming gangs and child sex abuse, some people continue to believe in cover ups and conspiracies. What these inquires have often found is not cover ups as such, but an unwillingness to take victims and their allegations seriously or an unwillingness to act because it was considered culturally and politically sensitive.

Home Office data that Braverman must have been aware of, does suggest that most of the people convicted of child sex abuse in Britain, have been white people. There have also been white people, including women, who have been jailed for being members of grooming gangs set up to sexually exploit children. It's also known that most children who are subjected to sexual abuse in Britain, are not abused by strangers or grooming gangs. Very often the child knows the perpetrator and the abuse often takes place in the family home.