UK sex abuse report prompts outrage, reflection

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20140827/eu-britain-sex-abuse-5da7bce1d1.html

Aug 27, 4:47 PM (ET)
By SYLVIA HUI

ROTHERHAM, England (AP) — Rotherham is a working-class town that is remarkable in its ordinariness — a collection of charmless discount stores, betting shops and kebab counters, surrounded by sleepy residential streets lined with brick houses that have seen better days.

But below the drab surface, shock was evident Wednesday as the people of this northern English town learned that for 16 years, girls as young as 11 in their community had been subjected to sexual exploitation on a vast scale.

The number of victims — 1,400 — was terrifying enough for a community of just 250,000. But that wasn't all: despite repeated warnings over the years, only a handful of men have ever been convicted and an independent report found that local leaders had dismissed reports of child rape, exploitation and violence for years. Part of the reason, they said, was that they feared they would be branded as racist for pursuing the perpetrators — the majority of whom were men of Pakistani origin.

Yet, many say it's time for police and social workers to come up with a better response than to blame prickly race issues. Muhbeen Hussain, who founded the British Muslim Youth group, said the Pakistani community also needs to step up and face the problem.

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"We need to acknowledge there was a large number of Pakistani men said to be involved. As a Pakistani Muslim I don't find anything within our religion to condone this," the 20-year-old said.

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Jay said Rotherham is not the only place struggling with this issue. She told the BBC that "demand for this kind of sexual activity with children is on the increase and that is validated across not just the UK but Europe and worldwide."

"We can't say that Rotherham is any better or worse than other places because the information simply doesn't exist at a national level to tell us that," she said.

But in Rotherham, where the shock is still sinking in, people are wondering about how things have changed, how times have changed. Claire Hizelhorst, a school dinner lady, said kids used to be able to play outside. Now, she'd be afraid to let them.

"How can anyone do this?" she said. "It's beyond me."