to think that men should not be referred to as 'Asian' when they are not in fact Asian

[PatPig]

Examples (disturbing content warning):

www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/may/14/oxford-child-sex-ring-police-investigation
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2324621/Girl-12-branded-hairpin-raped-sold-sex-600-hour.html

According to this:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-22164676

The leaders of the gang are:

'thought to originate from Eritrea, in East Africa, but he grew up in his parents' house on the Cowley Road.'

Since when was Eritrea in Asia?

The Telegraph goes with:

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/10057543/Asian-grooming-gang-convicted-of-appalling-acts-of-depravity-on-children.html

"Asian grooming gang convicted of appalling acts of depravity on children"

yet in the article concedes:

"Seven men of Asian or North African origin were found guilty of grooming"

It seems like inaccurate and prejudicial language to me, especially when Asia contains 2/3 of the population of the world yet 'Asians' are obviously an ethnic minority in the UK.

That's a great article Nailak

erm - my job and the various training I have had on sexual exploitation - or do you disagree that this is a business - these men are making money out of these kids - they didn't meet up by chance - they have links with other gangs

Gordy - yes, there are sleazy men who consider girls to be worthless sluts - the issue here was that, apparently these men held these views about these girls because of their ethnicity. That is worse, somehow.

to be honest I find that a very simplistic view - of course if they ONLY targeted white girls and ONLY because they where white I would agree

Gordy, certainly not wanting to cast aspersions on your professional expertise, but I feel sure that if there had been even a sniff of a link to organised drug trafficking, the Mail and other elements of the press would have been all over it. I don't think they have been ?

These men certainly did not meet up by chance, they met up because they wanted to have sex, and make money from selling sex, with young white girls.

I am also sure they had links with other gangs. Other gangs of Asian/Muslim men doing the same.

" of course if they ONLY targeted white girls and ONLY because they where white I would agree"

Weasel words, Gordy. Are you suggesting the fact that all their victims were white was a coincidence? Or because they were all that was available?

we will have to disagree - I can only base my opinions on my experiences and my training - I dislike being insulted for them

they are not weasel words - there is no need to be rude - it was a response to the assertion they where only targeted because they where white

and here we have gangs of Eastern European men as well as some of the more established black gangs involved - it depends where you are in the UK

Sorry Gordy, I did come over as a bit rude, reading back.... Agree to disagree, then.

www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/may/14/child-grooming-sexual-abuse-race

This article discusses statistics which indicate that Asian men are disproportionately involved in offences relating to grooming children. One study indicated 26% of offences were committed by Asian men whereas Asians represent about 7% of the population. It is important to discuss why this is the case. One possibility put forward in the article is that Asian men are over-represented in the night-time economy (taxi drivers, fast food outlets) and therefore are more likely to encounter vulnerable girls.

Other reports in the Guardian say that one of the accused denied knowing that one of the victims was underage and said something along the lines of "why would her parents let her out at night if she was under age". Also the girls have said that the punters were all "foreign" and wanted white girls.

It's clear that lots of people knew what was happening and did nothing about it. It is important find out why and stop it happening again.

I don't really understand this thread. On one hand, lots of people are coming on to say that OP is BU, because the ethnicity of the perpetrators is relevant in this case and the media is therefore justified in referring to their ethnicity in the headlines. On the other hand, the OP is being told that she is nitpicking when she points out that they weren't all Asian and that two were of North African origin.

If the ethnicity is relevant - and I don't know enough about the case to know whether race was genuinely an aggravating factor - but if it is, then surely it is important to report that ethnicity accurately.

sorry to Things I am a little bit less thick skinned today than usual ! x

Jinsei,

I think that the feeling is perhaps the ethnicity of the perpetrators was described as it was because the media were somewhat anxious that they were not described as Muslim.

to whoever started quoting from Islam, the thing is, these men were not practicing Muslims, they were British, their culture was that of British culture, not practicing Islamic culture,

These were British men, assaulting British girls.

IME these types of men do the same to asian girls, when I was at school these things were common knowledge although we didnt understand it was grooming, just thought the girls were slags. Maybe the media interest about things happening to non whites is just not as prevalent. This can be seen in the reporting of missing children etc.

"these men were not practicing Muslims, they were British, their culture was that of British culture, not practicing Islamic culture"

I hadnt read that in any of the articles?

well sorry its not rocket science practicing muslims dont drink and are not involved with drugs, u really need an article to say these men are not practicing islam drink and drugs and premarital sex is not in islam

if you say so Nailak... if you say so..

Nailak

"Maybe the media interest about things happening to non whites is just not as prevalent"

I suggest you Google Ross Parker. Then Google Stephen Lawrence.

I would be intrigued as to the results

They were practising to the extent that they went to mosque -- the same mosque, in fact.
Of course, they were whopping great hypocrites amongst everything else, but I'm pretty sure they would identify themselves as Muslims. There is a large predominantly Pakistani community in the part of East Oxford they were operating in, and I should think they considered themselves part of that. Other members of the community are doubtless horrified at the association.

but what I am saying is how can it be argued that Islam influenced there actions when it came to their opinion of white girls, and at the same time say Islam didn't influence their actions when it came to other fundamental parts of Islam.

things yes that is one case, which is abnormal and happened years ago. Can you name any more recent asian or black victims in media?

because many muslim men believe that white women are trash.. and not worthy of any respect. that is why.

really? not the Muslim men I know.

In fact I actually know many white Muslim women

And I live close to one of the largest mosques in the UK. I also hear a lot of the comments made by muslim men with regards to their views on non-muslim white women.

I can't think of any parts of British culture that say that a girl who is out late at night, hanging around fast food joints or taxi offices, deserves to be hooked on drugs and alcohol, raped and prostituted, nailak.

The basic question is WHY did these men think it was OK to treat these girls in this way? For some reason, these men thought these girls did not deserve any respect, care or decent treatment. They thought it was OK to treat them in a way that they would consider abhorrent for anyone to treat their sister/daughter/female cousin. Clearly, for some reason, they considered these girls to be somehow less than other girls.

Answering that question ought to help find ways to prevent horrible crimes like this happening again. If a particular section of society need educating in the fact that all people are equally worthy of decent treatment, then their community and/or wider society needs to provide that education.