The Rotherham 1,400 children plus – WHO is responsible?

[Isitmebut]

The Rotherham situation, where the authorities appear to have done NOTHING to protect children in care, goes back 16-years, as it appears there was a largely ethnic element involved and ‘the powers that CONTINUE to be’ in a job, were afraid in that political climate, to be seen as ‘racists’, but why?

I can remember posting when anyone even daring to mention the affects of immigration on housing, jobs and local services were called ‘racist’, sometimes whole posts/threads were deleted on media boards (even the Daily Mail) - while the government of the day, not held to account by the media on their side, were free to continue a ‘multicultural’ agenda they adopted in their first few years they never sought at the ballot box.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2354713/BBC-chief-admits-We-deep-liberal-bias-migrants--changed.html

But as this article points out, the fear of being accused a racist, affected even household conversations.
“Are we all racist now?”
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/10860492/Are-we-all-racist-now.html

And the problem with secret sofa government policies, where local authorities and media compliance is key to continued electoral success, is that you can’t be SEEN to raise ethnic issues OR plan ahead for the numbers in homes, healthcare or schools – especially in a 2010 General Election manifesto, in electoral damage limitation mode.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/6418456/Labour-wanted-mass-immigration-to-make-UK-more-multicultural-says-former-adviser.html

The 2000’s seem to be a time when our public sector/local government numbers increased enormously, but seemed to both have THEIR OWN POLITICAL agendas, and failed so many vulnerable people, especially children in and out of care.

For no one in Rotherham to take responsibility for what happened to the 1,400 children (we know about), is a national disgrace – that is not good enough.

[iseenodust]

The men who perpetrated the awful acts were responsible.
Those in positions of authority who made a judgment call that the girls had made a 'lifestyle choice' colluded. Under age sex is a crime.

It's recent in terms of crime so I really really hope there are lots of jail terms dished out.

[tryingtokeepintune]

From Michael Doherty facebook page: Rotherham child abuse scandal - Police & Crime Commissioner Shaun Wright was Cllr responsible for Children's services at the time.

With power comes responsibility - He has to resign for failing to step up and protect the currently identified 1400 children.

Email him or call with your personal demand for his resignation on;

[email protected] or call 01226 774600

www.itv.com/news/calendar/update/2014-08-26/pcc-shaun-wright-i-apologise-again/

[tryingtokeepintune]

I had a very bad night just thinking of the poor children. How did we fail so many over such a long period... And then when they grow up damaged and with mental health problems, we take away their benefits...

It is time to hold those people who are paid by the public for doing those jobs accountable.

[ender]

Resignation is an easy way out. Wouldn't it make more sense for Shaun Wright to be suspended pending investigation then sacked for negligence and/or face criminal charges?

[Isitmebut]

Talk about 'accountable', I know there is a lot to consider over a long period, with no doubt numerous financial claims for all sorts of 'damages' from victims on the horizon - but when is someone in the current government going to make a statement, they can't all be on holiday??????

Come on, wheel someone out.

[ender]

Politicians, and ex politicians, are probably busy making sure they can't be implicated. One of the victims was on R2 this morning, she said she was from a 'nice' family who supported her. She told the police, gave them clothes she'd worn when being raped which had blood and semen on them. The police lost the clothes .
She also contacted local MP, David Blunkett, who was no help.

[Isitmebut]

"The police lost the clothes", oh my god.

This is what is both worrying and angering me; politicians come and go, but we have to be able to trust THE SYSTEM, so WHAT has gone wrong with the system when we have a systemic failure of this kind - and what else is out there?

With 'the system' covering up mass crime, public servants trying to bring down ministers, it won't be long before we'll need Mad Max or Judge Dread out there trying to restore public order.

[ender]

"Loosing" the clothes could be due to police incompetence. Bad enough in this situation but preferable to the theory that there was deliberate suppression of evidence and the criminals were being protected for some reason.

[Isitmebut]

If we were talking about one to several crimes here, I'd be 'content' to go with incompetence.

But we are not, and as more social workers come forward and say they were ignored, your second scenario appears to be the case, on somewhere between 1 and 1.400 cases.

The Rotherham Report writer said something today along the lines 'the social services and police did not know how to interact to solve the problems'.

But we are not talking about a bit of naff computer coding on a dodgy new government IT system here, CRIMES were being committed.

It appears to have been a racial Pandora's box, of which no one in authority was willing to lift the lid.

[ExpectedlyMediocre]

Rotherhamite here bumping this, its odd this has made news nows its never been secret or attempted to be hidden. At school.every single lunchtime more than one car of men pulled up and drove off with girls bang across from the huge glass bay window headmaster's office overlooking, its just not physically possible that no one noticed is it?

[Mumzy]

Meadow hall shopping centre in South Yorkshire was a well known grooming ground for young girls shopping alone or in groups. They'll be approached by a 'nice' boy who'd introduce them to his friends or a girl would 'befriend' them and lead them to the men. I heard this 10 years ago and it was an open secret amongst residents in the area.

[chibi]

this happens- actually is allowed to happen because the children targeted for abuse are seen as worthless by everyone involved, and this includes the police who seem to have been aware, but supremely unbothered that girls were being groomed

the 'we were worried about being seen to be racist' is post facto justification bollox.

[ender]

Expectedly - did people assume that the girls were happily going out with boyfriends? Was it generally known that girls were being intimidated, shared out and raped?

[Puzzledandpissedoff]

Was it generally known that girls were being intimidated, shared out and raped?

Among the relevant agencies, apparently yes. The problem seems to be not so much that it happened at all - though god knows that's bad enough - but that those in a position to act did nothing because of "cultural sensitivity"

Apart from being incredibly insulting to the criminals' community (who I'd hope are just as appalled as everyone else) this probably prevented even more victims coming forward and offering evidence which might have ended the situation sooner

Tragically, that appears to have been exactly what too many wanted: for the whole thing to just somehow go away. It didn't and it won't, at least until evil such as this is confronted fully and openly - and if that causes discomfort to any apologists, so be it

[tryingtokeepintune]

Yes, resignation is too easy. I think they should be penalize - charges brought against people who should have done something, who were paid to do something and failed to do their job. Too often we have rewarded people in power, due to their responsible and heavy workload but when something like this happens, no-one seems to be responsible. What do we pay these people for? Did they CEO of the Korean ferry disaster face criminal charges? Maybe it is time for us to consider the possiblility of holding people (as well as the company they work for) personally liable for failing to do their jobs.

[ExpectedlyMediocre]

People knew , when you girls of like 14 with men of 24 plus etc , there was one girl who did trident across the street who again every lunchtime had and entire square bench full of men waiting for her (15 yrs men 20s) would disappear and not come bk for the rest of the day, it was well known all around school , she had LD as well. My mates and me were talking about this earlier the annual travelling fayre that comes to Roth, my mum always refused to take me, and when we went as teens there was a handful of eastern/gypsyish prostitutes toting for business outside the waltzers disappearing underneath, I shit you not in broad daylight with families milling about, again its not physically possible the council didn't know that the annual fayre doubled as red light district for underage romani prostitution bleak times indeed.

[CaptChaos]

Who is responsible?

The men are who groomed, coerced, raped, drugged, beat and degraded those young people for years are responsible. They were colluded with by police, social services, youth services, schools, doctors and everyone else who saw but either did nothing or saw and covered it up.

This is the beginning. This is not an isolated thing. I know it was happening in Retford, and none of the perpetrators there were Asian.

It happens wherever young girls are seen as disposable. So it happens everywhere.

[ssd]

why has no one mentioned any parental responsibility in all this?

where did they think their daughters were when they werent at home and came back in a strange car?

why did everyone at school know and no one told their parents?

I think of course the fault is with the perpetrator scum who did this, the police and teachers and social workers who didnt do enough, but also with a good many parents who should have noticed/been worried about what your 14/15 yr old was doing.

I have teenagers, I know how hard it can be, I dont follow them when they are out, but surely if I had heard what goes on in my town and my dd was disappearing regularly with older men I'd want to know why.

[claig]

Parents went to police and the authorities

"At the same time, she said, her family were being threatened and intimidated.

"The men were parking outside my house, they were threatening my family, they were ringing my house phone - and they were quite dangerous men as well.

"The police said they couldn't offer any protection, so because of that I decided to drop the charges," she added.

"I was 13 at that point and my sexual exploitation went on until I was 15," Emma said.

She said her mum was the first person she had told what was happening. But even her family were unable to stop the abuse.

"My parents went to the relevant services, they went to the people who should have been there to help and protect (me), because as a family we couldn't stop these people," she said.

Emma said her parents even locked her up - "as many other parents" of victims had done - but said threats from the men left her fearing for her family's safety.

"I had no choice really, because they used to threaten to get my mum and rape my mum. So in my mind, as a 13 or 14-year-old, it was 'well if I didn't go out and see them they are going to get my mum and are going to rape her'.

'They knew everything'

"They gang raped me, so what stops them from doing that to my mum?" Emma said.

She added: "They used to follow my mum because they used to know when she went shopping, what time she had been shopping, where she had gone.

"They made it quite clear to me that if they wanted to harm somebody I loved to get to me in any way they would do that, if that's what it took."

In the end she says her parents decided the only way to stop the abuse was to move her "out of the country".

In the meanwhile, Emma says her perpetrators were able to "walk the streets and were left unpunished".

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28949188

[Dickorydockwhatthe]

There was an investigative documentary on this a few years ago on channel 4 about this highlighting the problem. The way they groomed those girls was awful. They talked about making them fall in love with them so they could convince the girls to trust them. I am surprised that there wasn't an uproar or much done back then. It's disgusting that people turned a blind eye to it. I was horrified watching that programme.

[ExpectedlyMediocre]

I watched ,years ago now ,a doc about the similar situation in Bradford and the parents were basically helpless as the men were very dangerous and like someone else said police offered little to no protection. Its hugely hugely organised crime. The entire taxi service in rotherham basically was taken over by these gangs, not hard to follow and imtimidate people when your job is driving around.

[claig]

"The report also described how social workers and council chiefs were quick to dismiss the concerns of parents who were attempting to protect their children.

In one case in 2002 a mother contacted social services to voice concerns that her 14-year-old daughter was going missing regularly and was being plied with drink by older males.

Her mother said she was worried that her daughter had become sexually active with members of the group.

But despite showing signs that she had been sexually exploited from the age of 11, the case was closed and the social worker’s assessment was that the mother was unable to accept the fact that her daughter was growing up.

Fathers arrested.

While the police often failed to take action against the abusers, there were cases where concerned parents were arrested for trying to protect their own children.

The report identified two separate cases where fathers who had tracked their daughters down and were trying to remove them from houses where they were being abused, were themselves arrested."

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11057622/Rotherham-child-sexual-exploitation-Victims-raped-beaten-and-doused-in-petrol-if-they-threatened-to-tell.html