Rotherham council unfit for purpose

[Justanotherlurker]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-31130750

What is going to be the outcome, I was initially against the idea that it was for fear of being racist, but after reading the report that did play a part(if you haven't read it, it is hard going). With the recent convictions in Halifax it is looking as though there is some systematic negligence, corruption and people more worried about their position of power above duty but a particular blind spot.

It's happened in other towns too - including Oxford, for instance. This isn't a Northern thing or a Labour thing and it's disrespectful to the victims to try to make this a political contest. The focus should be on the victims, not on the political complexion of the council. If you search the Private Eye archives, you'll find plenty of councils of all colours covering up scandals including child abuse

PR and limited terms of office almost certainly would help the corruption.... because that's what we're really talking about here, a corruption of the rule of law by people entrusted to oversee and enforce it. Even if the party rosette stays the same, a new councillor is more likely to take a fresh approach

I agree with Edam. It's so wrong to turn this into a petty bunfight about politics.

I don't think it's about politics, it's about a misogynistic attitude to women, and young women at that.

(Excuse the light hearted tone. I find the BBC so fkcing condescending an PC on this issue I have stopped paying my license).

I am so glad that the BBC have come out and said Pakistani. I'm not sure what 'heritage' means though. I feel a lot safer leaving my kids with my Indian (Gujarati) and Chinese (cantonese) friends. Until then, I had treated them like Jimmy Savile.

Its not even Pakistanis - its Mipuri Pakistanis tribes and their neighbours - Afghan etc. Basically, you are dealing with a bunch of corrupt, middle-age collection of fundamental hill-billies.

Saying 'Oh, someone said a ToryMP strangled a rent boy' is a total straw man. We are talking about wholesale abuse off many 1000s of young, vulnerable. All the public sector PC brigade should be totally disgusted with themselves.

What's reported in Rotherham has happened in Kiegthly, Oxford, Middlesbrough, Newcastle - Insert any town that has a sizable Mipuri Pakistani community.

So cut from the same cloth as the Taliban? Makes sense - couple that with some sexist white Yorkshire men who secretly wish that they could treat their womenfolk like that.

Its still going on. I was at Meadowhall and Asian youths were driving around the car parks shouting out to young girls. A child in my cousins school is going out with an Asian boy, she's picked up from school in a car and driven off to god knows what. She has special needs too, so vulnerable.

hifi, I know. I still have issues getting taxis in Sheffield and I am 36! I won't get a taxi home alone after having a drink because I've been harassed too many time. If you're female and you've had a drink you seem to be fair game to a lot of taxi drivers, and if you say no you get a mouthful of abuse. If you complain they just say you were drunk and it all gets brushed under the carpet as 'your word against theirs'.

I have to say, it appears that this was a case of a public service treating people differently on the basis of race, be that as the victim or the perpetrator. And that is classic good old fashioned racism. I would be really interested to find, out if other public services in the area have done the same thing, for example in terms of housing, health or social care. But I doubt that will ever be looked at seriously.

Moan, I think any PC official would be asking questions about dominance of a trade by one race if it were anything other than Pakistani or P-heritage people and the taxi trade. Makes wrongdoing all too likely when everyone comes from the same small circles, whether that's one ethnic community or masons or whatever.

My sister was attacked by a Pakistani man in Nether Edge - she was in her school uniform and he just grabbed her, at 4pm. Thankfully when she yelled the dog came running and knocked the guy flat.

It

Happened to me over 20 years ago.
My dad reported it but nothing happened then, and nothing has changed now.

One of the places I would be taken is smack across from the police station.
They didn't care I was just that kind of girl.
The station was closed a few years ago but the flat opposite is still used to this day for 'chillin'

The police knew, know and have evidence.
They just don't want it.

The issue isn't party political but it is about how organisations react to criticism and what they perceive as a threat.

Rotherham and other major councils went insular and thought they could deal with it. The reports show they couldn't. PR wouldn't change it - everyone in Rotherham pretty much votes labour (or BNP?). Local councillors aren't really trained to deal with this stuff - in most cases aside from a few senior positions which attract some 'pay' they are volunteers and tend to be older white business men. And those type of people will tend to hold views which are old fashioned about women. It's still the 1970s

It is a bit party pol, labour candidates choose their seat (I think) so the right person is in place to hide stuff.

i live in eastwood,and the report was very fair i thought,there unfit to represent the people of rotherham,the whole systems corrupt,social services are the norm here,single mums a favourite target,big big money for forced adoption,huge bonuses paid out to staff,for productivity,arrogant,rude,obnoxious,scum,cant speak out or have your say,as your punished then for failure to accept,the veiws of the ss,all liars as well,cant empty bloody bins on right day never mind run a fair system,and most people in rotherham knows what was going on,and is still going on im ashamed to be british

Obv I nc.

I'm in Sheffield but the issue is identical.

If only it was a matter of Pakistani abusers and Labour Party "enablers"!

Maybe the Mipuri Pakistanis are a particular problem, but was there no child sex abuse here before they arrived?

All I can say is: I was abused by a family friend, by my stepfather and by my brother's school friend; and they were all white and English.

Let's try to stick to the point: it's not just about party politics or race, it's about men with power - almost any kind of power; not just taxi drivers, but teachers, priests, doctors, MPs, entertainers, etc. etc.

And let's not forget that most abuse takes place in the home.

The Jay Report changed nothing. it was just pooh-poohed and they continued in their same intransigent way.

THAT's what is frightening.

But in Rotherham the abusers are Pakistani.
Dami I'm truly sorry you had such a shitty time but ignoring the race is why there is such a problem with the grooming gangs.

Because they are pakistani they are not being pursued by the police.
Because they are pakistani there is a fear of being called racist for authorities so they would rather cover their pc arses than save these girls.
Because they are pakistani they have a certain disdain for girls they consider easy, they see them as worthless.
Because they are Pakistani they use family, community and religious contacts in authorities to make sure no action is taken.

That is why their ethnicity is important.

Fwiw I was relatively lucky, I was only passed around a couple of times to get me pregnant.
I don't know if my ex ever intended worse for mebut he was a jjealous man and I was his property.
His wife and his sons knew about me but I was never spoken about.
After one especially bad beating his wife actually took care of me for a week.

I spent almost 20 years in fear for my family and my child.

I was a rebellious teen so who would believe me over a well respected business man?

I was relatively lucky but it was no secret and fucking prolific.

They laughed about how toothless the authorities are.

I agree with neverrealized. One of the most shocking things about Rotherham was that these were not powerful and well connected men. Sure some of them may have had a cousin or two on the local council, but that certainly isn't normally enough to get away with serious crime. They didn't get away with it in this case because they were men with power, taxi drivers, take away workers and petty criminals are not powerful. They got away with it purely because the Labour council was prepared to look away purely on the basis of the colour of their skin. And that is racism in it's purist form, ignoring that someone is a victim of crime because you prioritise the rights of person of one skin colour above those of one of another.

Also Never there are big problems with taxis in Sheffield. I know that it's fairly common knowledge that cabs are run almost 24 hours a day by various people who are not the licencee, often the person driving the cab doesn't match the picture, and it's clear they don't know where they're going or what they're doing or even speak any English. It's also fairly well known locally that if a non-Muslim decides they want to drive a cab they will have it made very clear to them they are not welcome. Presumably keeping it as a closed shop like this assists in hiding dodgy practices. It puts women in a hell of a lot of danger, and also means they have now lost a resource which should help keep them safe because it now poses a danger.

The taxi licensing was brought up around Rotherham in this latest report. In Sheffield, just like the abuse was, the issues with taxis are an open secret, everybody knows about them, but the authorities are in complete denial as the workforce is almost entirely Pakistani Muslim, keeps itself so and does so in the full awareness that if they keep their membership Pakistani Muslim they are pretty much totally unassailable because any allegation of wrongdoing is simply batted off as racism.

There's a case today about a woman from Kuwait who was murdered after horrendous DV in Sheffield. They were saying people of 'whatever background' should report. But how could you report to SYP if your husband was a Muslim and you know how they operate?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31329860

Another whistleblower claiming to have been threatened and silenced.

Just read the statement of the council heads when they left. Where they denied they were in denial. Gave me a wry smile.

Its a gruelling report to read. But this thread is also a hard read...the stories people have to tell, and the level of people involved in "turning the other cheek". Its frightening.

I have 1 or 2 Asian friends who say they are sick of being demonised because they're deemed the same as Pakistani men, many of whom see young white women as easily available, cheap sexual fodder..give them drink & drugs and its easy to use and abuse them

But you can't say that outright, can you...? For fear of being deemed racist and upsetting community relations. This country pussyfoots around every bloody thing...no action, just talk.

Im not British, or white...although Ive been here since the age of 2. But if this were to happen where I come from there would be bloodshed..the perpetrators would have to pray the police got to them before the locals did.

Its just so depressing to know that this abuse is so widespread..and because its poorer working class girls then it doesn't seem to matter. How can a society be deemed civilized if a blind eye is turned to this kind of abomination?

These men do it because they are abusers not because they are Asian.

They get away with it and run amok because they are Asian though.

As Moan said it's an open secret.