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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Foolseverywhere · 04/10/2025 10:39

Ddakji · 04/10/2025 10:19

Lots of lefties support conservative, patriarchal ideologies if those ideologies belong to a “marginalised, vulnerable minority”, especially when the victims of those ideologies are female. The left can be incredibly sexist. Come the revolution we all know which comrades will be scrubbing floors and wiping bums, don’t we.

Yes they thought that men should have more rights than women and should have access to women's bodies if they so wish.

They are the ones that keep telling us to welcome people that practice mysoginy and abuse on the daily and celebrate theit 'culture' as just as valid. They are evil.

Try role play if you really cannot imagine or lack in comprehension to see it.

Foolseverywhere · 04/10/2025 10:40

Hibernatingtilspring · 04/10/2025 10:38

I don't think you know how social work 'works'
A social work manager only knows what a social worker does by what that worker tells them. And in terms of the 'whole department' I don't have a clue what my colleagues are doing - if I check their diary I might know they're at a core group or 'on a visit' but I wouldn't know what they're doing when they're out there unless they specifically told me, e.g if they needed help.

As a manager you supervise, but given you might have 2 hours a month to supervise and discuss 30 children along with everything else you do in supervision, you rarely get much detail. It's entirely possible that the social worker could have minimised what they shared with the manager, and the manager would be non the wiser. That's why integrity in so important in social work because you have to willing to tell your manager if you're unsure, or struggling, or unsure of your decision making.

In terms of the 'climate' no one recognised grooming the way we do now, twenty years ago. And teenagers were definitely seen as older and more responsible for their own decisions (when you think about it, 16yr olds used to be able to leave school and work full time and move out, that seems ridiculously young now)

But had time to go to the abuse ceremony billed as a "wedding"?"

Foolseverywhere · 04/10/2025 10:45

Hibernatingtilspring · 04/10/2025 10:09

Why on earth would you think that a social worker supporting a conservative patriarchal and abusive arrangement was 'lefty'? And for the other social worker saying 'she' should be sacked, 'Anwar' is usually a male name.

This goes totally against social work values. It seems more likely that the social worker took a route that was related to their personal beliefs as there is no way this would be condoned by the profession. It reminds me of what happened in my mum's generation when 'fallen' young women where encouraged to marry their abusers to 'save their reputations'. Fortunately most of us have moved on from those times.

Of course anyone who is not a racist and has lived among women and men and others cultures would anticipate that it was a he and his name. Because they are reasonable open minded people that don't hide from other races, cultures or religions while practicing hypocrisity and calling those that do mix and therefore have a better understanding as "racist".

Ddakji · 04/10/2025 10:46

Hibernatingtilspring · 04/10/2025 10:23

What a bizarre logical leap to support your own bias @Ddakji It's insulting to the victim that that is your hot take from all this.

Fwiw I've checked and there's no one with that SWs name who has been registered to practice since 2022. Hopefully there will have been some form of action taken, and petals perhaps the publicity of this could allow for it to be looked at again. Though I'm not sure if it could be a criminal matter - not saying it isn't serious enough just that I'm not sure whether it breaks any laws, it certainly should be a fitness to practice issue.

Have you read the judgment in Meade vs City of Westminster and Socila Work England? SWE were obliged to pay exemplary damages, which is highly unusual to be awarded, because they had behaved unconstitutionally. That’s the regulatory body for social work.

Longtimelurkerfinallyposts · 04/10/2025 10:48

A shocking story.
According to the news reports (links posted in this thread) the social worker was questioned by the police (presumably under caution, so quite possibly under arrest at the time) for the crime of 'malfeasance in public office', then no further action was taken.
So why are we not questioning why West Yorkshire Police and the Crown Prosecution Service failed to charge him with this, or something else?

GagMeWithASpoon · 04/10/2025 10:48

Trodincatsickagain · 04/10/2025 10:28

I totally agree with all of that but what I’m saying is that there had to be somebody above that social worker that allowed this to happen, the whole department where complicit, as where the government at the time and .it was the general climate and norm to not believe these girls and allow these atrocities to happen.

I’ll be honest, I’m incredibly biased in this because I never believed and never will believe the excuse of “we were afraid of being called racist”. That was a cop out and something that would play a lot better in courts, reviews and the paper than the truth … corruption, negligence and not giving a shit.

That being said, that social worker made an active , personal choice. Hiding behind the “department “ doesn’t work. They didn’t have to do that. They chose to.

Trodincatsickagain · 04/10/2025 10:50

Hibernatingtilspring · 04/10/2025 10:38

I don't think you know how social work 'works'
A social work manager only knows what a social worker does by what that worker tells them. And in terms of the 'whole department' I don't have a clue what my colleagues are doing - if I check their diary I might know they're at a core group or 'on a visit' but I wouldn't know what they're doing when they're out there unless they specifically told me, e.g if they needed help.

As a manager you supervise, but given you might have 2 hours a month to supervise and discuss 30 children along with everything else you do in supervision, you rarely get much detail. It's entirely possible that the social worker could have minimised what they shared with the manager, and the manager would be non the wiser. That's why integrity in so important in social work because you have to willing to tell your manager if you're unsure, or struggling, or unsure of your decision making.

In terms of the 'climate' no one recognised grooming the way we do now, twenty years ago. And teenagers were definitely seen as older and more responsible for their own decisions (when you think about it, 16yr olds used to be able to leave school and work full time and move out, that seems ridiculously young now)

If the evidence stacked up that this was an isolated case I might agree, but as all the enquiries have shown, at that time, this treatment and way of thinking towards the victims was endemic throughout many children’s social work departments.

Jellycatspyjamas · 04/10/2025 10:52

Foolseverywhere · 04/10/2025 10:32

Yes of course why haven't they been arrested and prosecuted. They are guilty. They have colluded in a crime.
Many other victims had social workers too, councillors, teachers, some, especially councillors, were family of the abusers.
How this once tolerant, high trust and decent society has changed.

What kind of person tends to become a social worker, do you reckon. Someone that likes control and harm and destroying families and lives. Not unlike some of the teachers or councillors. People that like power are rarely good news.

What the hell? Yes the situation described in the article is abhorrent, the social worker involved, and their managers, have a case to answer at law and in fitness to practice. To extrapolate that to mean all social workers are power craven abusers is ridiculous and insulting to people who work day in day out to protect very vulnerable people in systems that are both chronically under resourced and that actively work against public protection.

This worker is appalling, that doesn’t mean all social workers are.

user2848502016 · 04/10/2025 10:52

Agree, DH used to work closely with social workers in a previous role, he was absolutely appalled by this story

Hibernatingtilspring · 04/10/2025 10:55

@Foolseverywhere I don't get your point?
The SW went to the wedding - an islamic ceremony could have been a very short and private 'ceremony' in a situation like this, they're often held in the couples home with minimal people attending. It's entirely possible that a SW could have gone and done so without running it past a manager or telling them what he was doing, or minimising his involvement. It isn't necessarily something that the manager or department would have known about let alone supported.

Sadly Muslim women and girls are not protected under UK law, if there had been a legal aspect to the wedding it couldnt have gone ahead (obviously being illegal due to her age, but if under 18 it would have needed the explicit consent of the director of children's services and that would not have been given, as she was on a care order theres a chance the court would have needed to be notified also)

notacooldad · 04/10/2025 10:56

Are there any other links apart from the daily mail? I refuse to read their articles
Could you not have done your own research if you weren't happy with the original link? 🤔

Op i read about this a day or ago and was absolutely astounded. A further investigation is needed and I agree charges need to made.

ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea · 04/10/2025 10:57

GagMeWithASpoon · 04/10/2025 10:13

By attending the “wedding” the SW was 1. complicit 2. legitimised the whole sordid affair 3. made it clear to the victim that no one gives a shit. They were responsible for this girl’s safety and well being. Attending the ceremony was an active act. A statement.

Agree with all of this.

mintydoggyv · 04/10/2025 10:59

So agree ,should be punished to the full extent of the law

Hibernatingtilspring · 04/10/2025 11:00

Curious if anyone here would know if the SW had broken any law? As in, I genuinely can't think of how this would be covered in law and whether there is gap in the law that needs to be addressed.
Goes without saying that there is fitness too practice but that only covers registration and possibly being barred from working with children or vulnerable people.

Hibernatingtilspring · 04/10/2025 11:05

@Ddakji I'm aware of that judgement, and funnily enough I'm aware of the regulatory body that I work under. What I cannot fathom is to why you are trying to shoehorn transphobia and your agenda against 'lefties' into this discussion. It's a poor attempt at attention grabbing and insulting to the victim of this story.

AzureCats · 04/10/2025 11:08

As others said Anwar is a male name and also Asian sounding. So perhaps explains why he raised no concerns at the time.

I don't know about the early 2000s but more recently they were registered as a private independent social worker. Wouldn't surprise me if this is a case of someone deliberately working with vulnerable people to take advantage of them. He and his role in this case needs to be investigated fully.

That poor child and what she went through. It absolutely disgusts me that these things are allowed to happen time and time again. The ordeal that children under social care go through absolutely breaks my heart, and the fact these perpetrators get away with it for years is infuriating.

Jellycatspyjamas · 04/10/2025 11:21

Hibernatingtilspring · 04/10/2025 10:38

I don't think you know how social work 'works'
A social work manager only knows what a social worker does by what that worker tells them. And in terms of the 'whole department' I don't have a clue what my colleagues are doing - if I check their diary I might know they're at a core group or 'on a visit' but I wouldn't know what they're doing when they're out there unless they specifically told me, e.g if they needed help.

As a manager you supervise, but given you might have 2 hours a month to supervise and discuss 30 children along with everything else you do in supervision, you rarely get much detail. It's entirely possible that the social worker could have minimised what they shared with the manager, and the manager would be non the wiser. That's why integrity in so important in social work because you have to willing to tell your manager if you're unsure, or struggling, or unsure of your decision making.

In terms of the 'climate' no one recognised grooming the way we do now, twenty years ago. And teenagers were definitely seen as older and more responsible for their own decisions (when you think about it, 16yr olds used to be able to leave school and work full time and move out, that seems ridiculously young now)

If I didn’t know that one of my staff members was going to the wedding of a 15 year old child, much less a 15 year old child in care, I’d consider that a failing in my management.

Theres no way it wasn’t discussed with someone in the team - that no one stepped in to stop it is at best professional neglect, particularly given the local authority would have corporate parenting responsibility for the child. Who have permission for the wedding to take place?

Dollymylove · 04/10/2025 11:24

If you read some of the testimonies from these young girls you will realise that some of those in authority actively encouraged this behaviour.
No wonder they didnt want a public inquiry. They should all be arrested and put in front of the courts 😡

Hoppinggreen · 04/10/2025 11:27

Trodincatsickagain · 04/10/2025 09:59

It’s not the social workers fault though is it? It was the government and local authority that decided to turn a blind eye and sweep it all under the carpet for fear of being accused of racism.

It wasn't about being accused of racism, that would assume that The Police never arrest Asian men for any crimes
Even the lady who first exposed the issue in Rotherham said it was about the attitude to working class girls with difficult backgrounds - a family member (with SN) was groomed and believe me once it became apparent she was from a nice MC family the Police were VERY involved

Hibernatingtilspring · 04/10/2025 11:33

@Jellycatspyjamas I'm not defending or condoning the behaviour. My understanding is the marriage was a nikah, and as they're not legally binding it could have gone ahead without permission being sought from anyone.
Of course a manager would want to know if something like this was being considered, my point was that it the SW knew it was wrong it would have been quite easy to hide.

I have worked with teenagers where we have found out after the event that a forced Nikah took place (not in any way condoned by us id hasten to add!) and they can be arranged quickly and done with minimal people in attendance, hence being open to abuse. The teenagers themselves don't necessarily know it's not legally binding, though of course it being binding in a religious sense carries a lot of weight for them.

PollyBell · 04/10/2025 11:33

And where are the parents of all these poor children who suffer? Using culture shouldn't stop charges being made against the parents

Trodincatsickagain · 04/10/2025 11:37

Hoppinggreen · 04/10/2025 11:27

It wasn't about being accused of racism, that would assume that The Police never arrest Asian men for any crimes
Even the lady who first exposed the issue in Rotherham said it was about the attitude to working class girls with difficult backgrounds - a family member (with SN) was groomed and believe me once it became apparent she was from a nice MC family the Police were VERY involved

Agreed - it went hand in hand but yes, there was a distinct lack of police or social workers focusing on the victims and they were far too dismissive of their claims of abuse for the reasons your rightly state.

Hoppinggreen · 04/10/2025 11:43

PollyBell · 04/10/2025 11:33

And where are the parents of all these poor children who suffer? Using culture shouldn't stop charges being made against the parents

They don't tend to come from the most functional of families

user0345437398 · 04/10/2025 11:48

Mrswhiskers87 · 04/10/2025 07:15

Are there any other links apart from the daily mail? I refuse to read their articles.

Bradford Crown Court jury was told the "wedding" in the early 2000s to Raja Zulqurnean, was attended by the victim's key social worker despite care home staff fearing that she was being exploited.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c89ezepnj0jo

A man with straggly dark hair swept back from his face. he also has a moustached and short beard in this police mugshot.

Man who 'married' care home girl, 15, guilty of sex abuse

The victim was sexually abused by groups of men from the age of 13 in West Yorkshire, a court hears.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c89ezepnj0jo

GagMeWithASpoon · 04/10/2025 11:48

Jellycatspyjamas · 04/10/2025 11:21

If I didn’t know that one of my staff members was going to the wedding of a 15 year old child, much less a 15 year old child in care, I’d consider that a failing in my management.

Theres no way it wasn’t discussed with someone in the team - that no one stepped in to stop it is at best professional neglect, particularly given the local authority would have corporate parenting responsibility for the child. Who have permission for the wedding to take place?

Technically , since it’s not a legally binding ceremony, no permission is needed. No official notice given , or records etc. So no one would know , other than the people involved.
Also , as a manager , you wouldn’t necessarily know what one of your employees do in their private time, at the weekend, after work, or even necessarily in work hours i.e. “home visit”.

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