Back Kauza sexuálního zneužívání dětí v Rotherhamu Czech Missbrauchsskandal von Rotherham German Escándalo de explotación sexual de menores en Rotherham Spanish Rotherhamin lasten hyväksikäyttöskandaali Finnish Affaire des viols collectifs de Rotherham French Skandal eksploitasi seksual anak-anak Rotherham ID ロザラム児童性的搾取事件 Japanese 로더럼 아동 성착취 스캔들 Korean Skandal związany z seksualnym wykorzystywaniem dzieci w Rotherham Polish Escândalo de exploração sexual infantil de Rotherham Portuguese
 Rotherham town centre, March 2010 | |
| Date | 1970s–present |
|---|---|
| Location | Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England |
| Coordinates | 53°25′48″N 1°21′25″W / 53.430°N 1.357°W |
| Events | Child sexual abuse of an estimated 1,400 (1970s–2013, according various reports including Jayne Senior) majority aged approximately 11–16.[1] |
| Reporter | Andrew Norfolk of The Times, with information from Jayne Senior, youth worker[2] |
| Inquiries | Home Affairs Committee (2013–2014)[3] Jay inquiry (2014)[4] Casey inquiry (2015)[5] |
| Trials | Sheffield Crown Court, 2010[broken anchor], 2016–2017, convictions for rape, conspiracy to rape, aiding and abetting rape, sexual intercourse with a girl under 13, indecent assault, false imprisonment, procurement. Numerous individual prosecutions regarding child sexual exploitation over the years, including 8 in 2012, 9 in 2013, and 1 in the first quarter of 2014[6] |
| Convictions | c. 60 (rising) Operation Central: 5 men Operation Clover: 18 men & 2 women Operation Stovewood: 21 men (trials ongoing as of August 2019[update]) |
| Awards | Andrew Norfolk: Orwell Prize (2013), Journalist of the Year (2014)[7] Jayne Senior: MBE (2016 Birthday Honours)[8] |
From the late 1980s until 2013, group-based child sexual exploitation affected an estimated 1,400 girls, commonly from care home backgrounds, in the town of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. Between 1997 and 2013, girls were abused by "grooming gangs" of predominantly British-Pakistani men.[9][10][11] Researcher Angie Heal, who was hired by local officials and warned them about child exploitation occurring between 2002 and 2007, has since described it as the "biggest child protection scandal in UK history".[12]
Evidence of the abuse was first noted in the early 1990s, when care home managers investigated reports that children in their care were being picked up by taxi drivers.[13] From at least 2001, multiple reports passed names of alleged perpetrators, several from one family, to the police and Rotherham Council. The first group conviction took place in 2010, when five British-Pakistani men were convicted of sexual offences against girls aged 12–16.[14] From January 2011, The Times covered the issue, discovering that the abuse had been known by local authorities for over ten years.[a]
Following these reports, alongside the 2012 trial of the Rochdale child sex abuse ring, the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee conducted hearings and published its recommendations in six reports.[17] Alexis Jay led an independent inquiry, known as the Jay report, which found multiple failings of the police and local authorities.[11][16] Girls would be regularly taken in taxis to be abused,[18] and were gang raped, forced to watch rape, threatened, and trafficked to other towns. The pregnancies, miscarriages, and terminations which resulted caused further trauma to the victims.[19][20][21][22] Most victims were White British girls but British Asian girls were also targeted.[23] British Asian girls may have feared social isolation and dishonour had they reported their experiences.[24] Failure to address the abuse has been linked to factors such as fear of racism allegations due to the perpetrators' ethnicity; sexist attitudes towards the mostly working-class victims; lack of a child-centred focus; a desire to protect the town's reputation; and lack of training and resources.[25][26][10]
Following the Jay report, Rotherham Council's chief executive, its director of children's services, as well as the Police and Crime Commissioner for South Yorkshire Police all resigned.[27] The Independent Police Complaints Commission and the National Crime Agency both opened inquiries.[28][29] The Rotherham Council was also investigated, and found to be "not fit for purpose".[30][31] 19 men and two women were convicted in 2016 and 2017 of sexual offences in the town dating back to the late 1980s.
- ^ "Rotherham abuse scandal whistleblower: True number of victims likely to be 2,000". The Star. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
- ^ Janice Turner (19 March 2016). "The Rotherham Whistleblower", The Times magazine.
- ^ Home Affairs Committee (c) 2014.
- ^ Jay 2014.
- ^ Casey 2015.
- ^ Jay 2014, p. 31.
- ^ "Andrew Norfolk named journalist of the year as Times and Sunday Times claim seven British Journalism Awards", Press Gazette, 2 December 2014.
Martinson, Jane (28 September 2014). "Rotherham child sex scandal: Andrew Norfolk on how he broke the story", The Guardian.
- ^ "Rotherham whistleblower Jayne Senior appointed MBE", BBC News, 10 June 2016.
- ^ "Rotherham abuse scandal: How we got here". BBC News. 22 June 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ a b Helen Pidd (13 July 2015). "Alexis Jay on child sex abuse: 'Politicians wanted to keep a lid on it'", The Guardian.
- ^ a b "Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Rotherham (1997–2013)". Retrieved 15 April 2024.
- ^ Gladman & Heal 2017, 28.
- ^ Senior 2016, 56.
- ^ Jay 2014, 23.
- ^ "Revealed: conspiracy of silence on UK sex gangs", The Times (editorial), 5 January 2011.
Andrew Norfolk (5 January 2011). "'Some of these men have children the same age; they are bad apples'", The Times.
Andrew Norfolk (5 January 2011). "Barnardo's demands inquiry into sex exploitation of British girls", The Times.
"The 17 cases identified by The Times which showed a pattern of exploitation", The Times, 5 January 2011.
Andrew Norfolk, Richard Ford, Greg Hurst (6 January 2011). "Calls for major police inquiry on 'grotesque' sex gangs", The Times.
- ^ a b Norfolk, Andrew (24 September 2012). "Police files reveal vast child protection scandal". The Times.
- ^ Home Affairs Committee (a) 2013, 3–4.
- ^ "Rotherham child abusers 'brazen', says care home worker", BBC News, 29 August 2014.
Keith Perry (29 August 2014). "Rotherham: 'Brazen' sex abusers sent taxis to collect girls from children's home", The Daily Telegraph.
Olivia Goldhill and Ju Zhang (7 June 2015). "A Rotherham abuse survivor speaks out", The Sunday Telegraph.
- ^ Jay 2014, 43.
- ^ Senior 2016, 148–149.
- ^ "Rotherham child sex abuse: Woman made pregnant aged 12 believes child was 'product of pure evil'". The Daily Telegraph. 2 February 2017.
"DNA tests negative over mother, 12", BBC News, 6 December 2001.
- ^ Lizze Dearden (30 August 2014). "Rotherham abuse scandal: Authorities' decisions to take away babies born to abused girls caused yet more suffering", The Independent.
- ^ Jay 2014, p. 94: "The UK Muslim Women's Network produced a report on CSE in September 2013 which drew on 35 case studies of women from across the UK who were victims, the majority of whom were Muslim. It highlighted that Asian girls were being sexually exploited where authorities were failing to identify or support them."
- ^ Jay 2014, p. 94: "The Deputy Children's Commissioner's report reached a similar conclusion to the Muslim Women's Network research, stating 'one of these myths was that only white girls are victims of sexual exploitation by Asian or Muslim males, as if these men only abuse outside of their own community, driven by hatred and contempt for white females. This belief flies in the face of evidence that shows that those who violate children are most likely to target those who are closest to them and most easily accessible.' The Home Affairs Select Committee quoted witnesses saying that cases of Asian men grooming Asian girls did not come to light because victims 'are often alienated and ostracised by their own families and by the whole community, if they go public with allegations of abuse.'"
- ^ Jay 2014, 69, 101.
- ^ Casey 2015, 9, 32–36.
- ^ "PCC Shaun Wright resigns over Rotherham child abuse scandal". BBC News. 16 September 2014.
- ^ "NCA begins two-stage investigation into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham" Archived 9 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine, National Crime Agency, 18 December 2014.
"Operation Stovewood—Summary of Terms of Reference" Archived 31 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine, National Crime Agency.
- ^ Andrew Norfolk (7 June 2016). "Rotherham abuse inquiry will run for eight years", The Times.
- ^ Casey 2015, 6.
- ^ Casey 2015, 9, 11, 30.
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