Over the past few years in England there have been a number of convictions against organised gangs that have abused young girls. They are referred to as ‘street grooming’ gangs.
Unfortunately a disturbing trend that has emerged is that British Pakistanis are over represented in these cases. The men are either born in Pakistan or raised in Britain, with Pakistani parents. The victims are mostly under aged, vulnerable white English girls.
In England, there is a general reluctance to discuss the issue, as people do not wish to be labelled as being racist. But a number of articles in the national press have highlighted the concerns.
I feel that our communities need to look at these cases and respond in a positive way to address the issues.
The pattern emerging is that older Asian men make friends with very young, vulnerable white girls. These girls are often from broken families or living in care homes. The girls are then befriended and ‘groomed’ with gifts, money, cigarettes, alcohol and drugs. They are driven around in flashy cars. Once trapped, a cycle of sexual abuse starts, often involving other members of the gang.
Nazir Afzal, the ex- Crown Prosecution Service lead of child sexual exploitation has raised concerned about the ‘grooming’ cases in the British Pakistani society. He has reached out to the communities to help them to resolve some of these sensitive issues.
Yes, we do have a problem in England. We do need to accept some responsibility.
Whether we like it or not, men of Pakistani heritage are over represented in the statistics.
In Bradford, 61 Asian men are on bail for child sexual exploitation. In Rochdale in 2012, 8 British Pakistani men were prosecuted for abusing 47 young girls.
It prompted a national debate, that many felt uncomfortable to tackle.
In 2014 in Oxford another British Pakistani gang was sentenced for abusing over 50 girls. In Rotherham, over 1400 girls were thought to be abused over many years. Some of the girls were only young teenagers.
Other high profile cases involving British Pakistanis occurred in various places in England eg. Birmingham, Derby, Telford, Peterborough and High Wycombe.
The cases commonly involve older men and their gangs are made up of relatives and friends. The abuse is well organised and systematic. The girls are often repeatedly assaulted by different gang members. The girls are usually supplied with alcohol or drugs so that they become intoxicated before being abused. They are driven house to house or to other cities. The details of the cases are too distressing for me to express here.
The male offenders often lead a double life. Daytime family man, respectable, religious person, then they switch to the predatory, evil types when with the young white girls. The men know they have to behave in a certain way within their own community, but with the white girls the morals are different.
The men who mostly work at night eg. taxi drivers and takeaway restaurant workers are generally at higher risk of offending. The men may have originated from rural parts of Pakistan and remained in their conservative clans in England. Even men growing up in England may also have been raised in these tight knit strict communities. They may not have adequately adjusted to the socially appropriate attitudes and behaviours of the Western society. The English way of life may be much more liberal, but there are still rights and wrongs. Physical and sexual abuse is a crime.
Over the years the police and social services have let these young girls down. In the past they didn’t take their concerns seriously. Also the authorities were worried about being accused of racism, they didn’t want to single out one community.
Hence the cycle of systematic abuse has being occurring for many years, until recently when more and more convictions are taking place.
Unfortunately the British Pakistanis are still not fully accepting these problems and would rather stay silent. It is easier to shift the blame onto someone else rather than the suspects.
A Parliamentary Home Affairs Select Committee has also discussed the matter and published a report.
Of course abuse occurs in all societies, however the recent high profile cases involving British Pakistanis has brought the problem into sharp focus.
For the sake of ‘izzat’, we can not avoid highlighting this serious issue. I am concerned we are at the tip of the ice berg and many more cases will come to the surface now.
In summary whether a man is white, black or Asian DON’T abuse women or children. Even if a girl or women is not from your community or religion, you still must treat her with utmost respect. The rules of common decency are the same for all girls and women.
