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Crime Desk, Delhi Magazine: UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced the formation of Grooming Gang Task Force to take action against grooming gans. Earlier, Home Minister Suella Braverman has also made serious allegations against the grooming gang. He said that all the men involved in such gangs are British Pakistanis. They deliberately trap young girls in the trap of their love and then exploit them by intimidation.
What are Grooming Gangs?
In the UK, grooming gangs refer to groups of people who physically, psychologically and sexually abuse children. Most of these are young girls. They trap them in their words, make them believe that they are their friends. When children start trusting them, they keep them under control by pressurizing them, intimidating them and taking advantage of them.
A UK based NGO Children’s Society released a report titled ‘Old Enough to Know Better’. It was reported that around 50,000 girls aged 16-17 were exploited by grooming gangs. Of these, only 5,000 girls complained about it to the police.
In 2017, Britain’s think tank Quilliam Foundation also released a report in this matter. It claimed that 84% of grooming gang criminals were of Asian origin, most of them British citizens of Pakistani origin.
How do grooming gangs work?
A case was registered against these gangs in West Yorkshire, a state in Britain and 20 accused were punished. In this case, it was revealed that grooming gangs target young and vulnerable girls. He amuses them by giving them gifts and builds a relationship with them by making them feel special. They assure that they love them, worry about them. When girls start believing them, they slowly trap them in the trap of exploitation.
These girls are taken to parties, given alcohol and drugs. They are then forced to have relationships with boys and men older in age. They are addicted to alcohol, marijuana and other drugs so that they remain intoxicated and keep obeying the gang members. These girls do not even understand that they are being sexually exploited. Many of these girls also became victims of human trafficking.
According to the BBC, the girls who fell into the trap of grooming gangs were minors, many as young as 11 years old. Gang members used to beat them to keep them under control. They even threatened to throw a bomb at a girl’s house. The girls told the court that they were taken to cars, parks, snooker clubs and kebab houses. Here they were forced to have sex with anyone and many times with more than one person.
Many of these girls became pregnant and had to undergo abortion. Many girls gave birth to their children, but they did not even know the name of their father. These grooming gangs operated across the UK, but in the states of Rochdale, Rotherham and Telford they entrapped the most girls.
Who do grooming gangs target?
Grooming gangs target girls who are single, who are bullied at school, who are mentally challenged. It is easy to trap these girls. By the time they realize that they are being exploited, it is too late. Many times the girls could not even understand that they were being exploited or are being exploited.
Why can’t girls get out of the clutches of grooming gangs?
When this case reached the court, many girls told that they kept thinking that they were in a real relationship. Her mind was brainwashed in such a way that she could not understand the exploitation being done to her.
One girl said, ‘I think when you are young and you are bullied in school, you like it if someone gives you even a little attention. You like it when someone helps you or gives you a gift. But once you get into a relationship with them, you can’t come out of it.’ Another girl said that they scared me. He said, ‘I am coming to pick you up and if you don’t come, I will pick up your mother.’
How have grooming gangs survived for so many years?
The girls and their families reported these cases to the police, but the police did not take any action on them. Police and government officials continued to ignore the crimes of the grooming gangs for fear of being accused of racism. In November 2017, the court had also banned reporting of hearings in these cases. It was later removed following a media complaint.
According to different UK media reports, a 13-year-old girl was found by police in Huddersfield, a town in West Yorkshire, wearing mutilated clothes. The neighbor had called the police after hearing the screams of the girl. It was early morning, a group of boys and that girl alone. He was given vodka. The police did not interrogate these boys but instead arrested the girl for consuming alcohol and spoiling the atmosphere.
Another 12-year-old girl, also in Huddersfield, was found drunk in a car with a 22-year-old man. The police had reached them after hearing the screams of the girl. This man had obscene pictures of the girl in his mobile phone, but he was not questioned.
Why do grooming gangs do this?
Grooming gangs do not have any clear and unique motto. It can be inferred from the pattern of their work that they extort money by trapping young British girls. Sexually abused and pushed into prostitution. Blackmails her by making obscene videos. In many cases cases of trafficking of these girls have also come to the fore. The victim Dr. Ella Hill told in an interview to ‘Triggernometry’ that grooming gangs rape on caste and religious grounds.
120 crimes in just one state; 221 years sentence
The court heard the crimes of the grooming gang in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, between 2004 and 2011. For the first time, 41 people were sentenced in the case of grooming gangs. This was called Operation Tenderness.
Questions on the involvement of people of Asian or Pakistani origin
In 2020, England’s Home Office released a report on child sexual abuse, saying that Black and Asian criminals are shown to be exaggerated among the criminals of grooming gangs. However, it cannot happen that such gangs have people from only one community. The report also noted that although there have been several high profile cases in Rotherham, Rochdale and Telford, grooming gang members were mostly of Pakistani origin; Yet there is no solid evidence to link any particular race and such crimes.
What did Pakistan say in its reply?
Pakistan has objected to this matter. After the statement of the Home Secretary of England, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that she has tried to present a very misleading picture of British Pakistanis. Suella Braverman has described the criminal behavior of a few as the behavior of an entire community. Mumtaz Zahra further said that Braverman fails to recognize the cultural, economic and political contributions British Pakistanis are making to British society.
What will happen next against these gangs?
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted and informed about the steps being taken to curb these gangs. He told that a special task force will be formed for this. In this, expert officers will be involved to understand the exploitation of children. He also told that the gang members will be punished severely. Along with this, the data of which race the accused belong to will also be made.
I will do whatever it takes to root out grooming gangs once and for all.
Here’s how 👇 pic.twitter.com/ZOLoMxippH
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) April 3, 2023