Billionaire tech tycoon Elon Musk has immersed himself in British politics in recent weeks, using his social media platform X to attack Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other members of the Labor government and make false accusations. disseminating information.
In a series of vitriolic posts to his 211 million followers in recent days, Mr Musk falsely accused Mr Starmer and other Labor MPs of aiding Britain's so-called grooming gangs. . The phrase refers to a decade-old scandal involving a series of child sexual abuse cases in which young girls were assaulted and raped by groups of men in several towns and cities. Most of the perpetrators were of British Pakistani descent.
Musk's post contained multiple inaccuracies and treated a widely discussed issue as if it had never been mentioned. But the posts have put the spotlight back on the painful child sex trafficking scandal that has plagued Britain and sparked a long and heated debate over issues of race, immigration and abuse.
What is the grooming gang scandal?
In 2011, The Times of London published a series of investigative articles into the sexual exploitation of girls by organized crime in the north of England and the Midlands since 1997. One of the detectives at the time, Chief Inspector Alan Edwards, told the newspaper: “Everyone was too scared to deal with the ethnicity factor.” The incident became known as the “grooming gang” scandal.
In 2014, the findings of a multi-year official inquiry into such abuse in the northern English town of Rotherham sparked a national inquiry. At least 1,400 children, some as young as 11, were trained for sexual exploitation between 1997 and 2013, despite years of turning a blind eye by local authorities. It turned out that it was. Similar gangs were found to be active in other towns and cities in England.
Grooming in Rotherham, which has a population of 257,000, tended to follow a similar pattern. A young man courting a girl in a public place such as a town center or shopping mall. Gradual introduction of alcohol and other drugs. She then had a sexual relationship with a man who demanded that the girl prove her love by having sex with his friend.
According to local government reports, most victims and parents who sought help were disappointed by police and social services. It was revealed that some police officers called the victims “tarts” and called the girls' abuse a “lifestyle choice.”
The racial contrast between the victims and the perpetrators, who in Rotherham were mostly white, made the case highly combustible. Men of Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Afghan descent who received long prison terms were among those accused of abusing dozens of girls in Oxford and the northern towns of Oldham and Rochdale in 2012.
What do we know about ethnicity and sexual abuse?
Experts say data on child sexual abuse should be treated with caution because many victims do not come forward or do not come forward for years. Still, data on the ethnicity of child sexual abuse victims and perpetrators, released by the Labor government in November – the first of its kind to be released by a UK government – could lead to convictions in 2023. It shows that 83 percent of the perpetrators were white and 7 percent were Asian. It's pretty much in line with the country's overall demographics. (In official British statistics, the term “Asian” has a very broad meaning and refers to people of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, or Chinese descent, or from other parts of South Asia.)
Nazir Afzal, who was chief prosecutor for North West England from 2011 to 2015 and is of Pakistani descent, said in 2015 that “Pakistani gangs are grooming vulnerable girls.'' You can't escape from it,” he said.
He went on to say that while the more common type of child sexual abuse nationally is carried out mainly by white British men, there are particular types of street grooming that have been highlighted in cases such as Rotherham and Rochdale. He said South Asians were “disproportionately involved.”
The racial component of these high-profile cases has become a common talking point on the right, even though experts have pointed out that ethnicity is not a predictor of propensity for child abuse. , which have long been hidden by other communities and institutions, including the police. Roman Catholic Church. This metaphor has also been weaponized by the far right, including terrorists. The white supremacist who killed 51 people at two mosques in New Zealand in 2019 was carrying a gun with the words “For Rotherham” written on it.
When did Musk start talking about this?
In October, Labor MP and Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips rejected a request from the local government in Oldham, a town near Manchester, for a national public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in the area in the 2000s and 2010s. A 2022 report commissioned by Manchester Labor Mayor Andy Burnham found child abuse committed by police and local authorities in Oldham between 2011 and 2014.
Phillips, who has spent much of her career fighting for women and victims of sexual violence, said the local council, the town's governing body, should instead commission an on-site investigation, as many other towns have done. said.
Her response was picked up by far-right network GB News last week, which published an online article headlined: “Labour rejects Oldham's call for government inquiry into grooming gang scandal”.
Moments later, Musk echoed similar sentiments, calling Phillips a “rape-genocide apologist” and a “witch” who “deserves to be in jail” and accusing Starmer of being complicit in the scandal. slandered.
Oldham Council leader Arooj Shah said in a statement that the council launched an investigation in October. “We are working closely with survivors and their families to ensure that they not only have a voice but also a central role in driving this investigation forward,” she said. Ta. “We expect terms of reference to be agreed in the coming months.”
What role did Keir Starmer play?
Musk said Starmer “must go” after his landslide victory in July's general election, falsely claiming Starmer was “deeply complicit in gang rape in exchange for votes”. Ta.
Before entering politics in 2015, Mr Starmer served as Britain's chief prosecutor from 2008 to 2013, when gang raids attracted national attention.
During his time in the role, Mr Starmer oversaw the prosecution of a grooming gang in Rochdale made up mainly of men of South Asian descent. Mr Starmer told a press conference on Monday that child sexual exploitation was “an absolute disease”, adding that far too many are being “driven by perverse ideas about community relations and the idea that institutions must be protected above all else”. He said the victim was disappointed.
He added: “When I was chief prosecutor for five years, I tackled this issue head-on because I knew what was going on. When I left office, I was the prosecutor in charge of child sexual abuse cases. This was the highest number on record.”
Mr Starmer and his Crown Prosecution Service colleague Mr Afzal were praised in a 2013 parliamentary report published under the previous Conservative-led government. “Mr. Starmer has worked to improve the treatment of victims of sexual assault in the criminal justice system during his term,” the report said, adding that “Mr Starmer's response is consistent with other agencies working to tackle localized grooming.” It should provide an example,” he added.
What has happened since the abuse incident first came to light?
The issue of gang grooming has been the subject of numerous local and national investigations and reports in the UK since the early 2010s.
Beginning in 2015, an extensive government-funded public inquiry led to more than 300 days of public hearings. In total, we conducted 15 investigations, including abuser networks and abuse in school and church settings.
A February 2022 report found that child sexual exploitation by organized networks remains a major problem nationally. The final report in October 2022 made 20 recommendations to protect children, but the then Conservative government failed to act on them. The Home Office said in a statement this week that it was “working at increased pace” to introduce them.
Professor Alexis Jay, who led both this national inquiry and the 2014 Rotherham inquiry, said: 'We have had enough of inquiries, consultations and discussions, especially for the victims and survivors who have had the courage to come forward. ” he said.
