Exploitation of thousands of young British girls by grooming gangs ignored in UK

(MENAFN) For decades, the exploitation of thousands of young British girls by grooming gangs, predominantly made up of Asian men, was ignored or actively covered up across the UK. This scandal is considered one of the most significant institutional failures in modern British history. Detectives were discouraged from investigating, whistleblowers were silenced, and victims faced neglect by authorities.

Activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali highlighted on the Free Press podcast how those who tried to bring attention to these crimes were vilified and ignored. A 2014 debate on BBC3 featuring an audience member from Bradford, who spoke out about the grooming gangs in her community, was met with ridicule. Despite her account of how local police failed to act, the conversation was quickly shut down.

Writer James Delingpole recounted facing hostility for speaking out about Muslim grooming gangs on the BBC panel, despite documented cases in Rotherham and Rochdale. Maggie Oliver, a former detective with Greater Manchester Police, revealed that Operation Augusta, a grooming gangs investigation, was abruptly abandoned in 2005, despite identifying over 200 suspects. Senior officers were reluctant to pursue the case further, and many offenders remained unpunished. After resigning in 2012, Oliver became a whistleblower and founded the Maggie Oliver Foundation.

In Rotherham, Jayne Senior, a former youth services manager, compiled a report in 2011 detailing the names of known perpetrators and concerns about sexual exploitation, only to have her work dismissed and her program shut down. Senior was accused of "rocking the multicultural boat" and faced hostility from council leaders who feared racial tensions.

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