Response to the Home Secretary’s announcement on grooming gangs
We are disheartened that the Government has decided to racialize the response to the scourge of child sexual abuse and exploitation in Britain. The Government has repeatedly denied or disregarded evidence of disproportionality when it shows the prevalence or persistence of racism, yet it chooses to frame its recent announcement by focusing on crimes committed by some. In doing so it ignores the Home Office’s own analysis, the recommendations of the Centre for Social Justice, the recently published Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and the reports of the Children’s Commissioner.
It is not clear to us whether any of the actions proposed by the Home Office will better protect more children. The action certainly does not respond to the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry, nor address the crisis in children’s social care identified by the MacAlister review. We do fear, however, that the framing of the need for these actions as necessitated by authorities failing to act because of political correctness will lead to vigilantism and sow division.
If the Government is serious about addressing child sexual abuse and exploitation it needs to come forward with serious proposals built on the evidence that it already has on what needs to change.
6 April 2023
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The Alliance for Racial Justice is a group of organisations working to address the causes and effects of race and ethnicity discrimination.
Group members are:
Race Equality Foundation
Action for Race Equality
Council of Somali Organisations
Caribbean and African Health Network
Jewish Council for Racial Equality
BMENational
The Traveller Movement
Black South West Network
Runnymede Trust
Friends Families and Travellers
