Author of explosive Rotherham child abuse report renews calls for action on grooming gangs as debate heats up

Last summer marked a decade since the publication of a damning report which blew the lid off a child sexual exploitation (CSE) scandal in Rotherham.

It revealed that around 1,400 Rotherham children were sexually exploited between 1997 and 2013. The author, Professor Alexis Jay, said the ‘true scale’ of the exploitation and abuse was unknown but the 1,400 figure was a ‘conservative estimate’. Prof Jay said it was ‘hard to describe the appalling nature of the abuse that child victims suffered’.

The report shocked the nation partly due to the scale of exploitation it described, but also because it laid bare the extent to which police and council officials failed to act on what they knew; and explicitly questioned whether this neglect was related to the perpetrators largely being adult men of a Pakistani heritage.

Prof Jay went on to chair the Independent Inquiry Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), which published its final report in 2022, calling for 20 necessary reforms to be implemented in order to reduce child suffering.

They included the introduction of tighter controls over who can work with vulnerable children, the creation of a national child protection authority, making a failure to report abuse a criminal offence and the introduction of legislation which forces tech firms to take more action over online abuse materials.

Debates surrounding the grooming gangs scandal have been brought the fore once again in recent days, following a slew of comments from billionaire Tesla owner, Elon Musk.

Mr Musk’s comments have sparked calls for a new independent inquiry into the scandal from politicians including Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.

Amid the renewed debate into the scandal, Prof Jay, acting as the chair of a group called Act on IICSA, has called for the ‘full implementation’ of her report's recommendations.

Distancing herself from calls in Westminster for a new independent review, she said instead that the introduction of measures which she recommended two years ago was ‘critical’.

In a statement released today (Monday, January 6, 2024), a spokesperson for Act on IICSA said: “Recent press coverage on child sexual abuse highlights a troubling trend of misinformation that undermines the true scale of the crisis and the pressing need for reform.

“The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), which heard from over 7,500 victims and survivors, provided a clear roadmap for action. Yet, two years later, none of its recommendations have been fully implemented.

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“The government has made hopeful promises regarding the protection of children and responding to IICSA recommendations.

“Act on IICSA remains committed to assisting them in achieving this task without delay. We urge the government to provide a clear timeline to deliver on these commitments. Politicising the issue of sexual violence fails to acknowledge its lifelong impact and hinders the implementation of vital and urgent overhaul to our systems required.”

Describing Prof Jay's report as ‘about as comprehensive as you could get,’ Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed it was ‘time to get on with’ implementing its recommendations, adding he was ‘slightly impatient’ with people calling for another review ‘when they haven't got on with implementing the very many reviews’.

He explicitly mentioned Mrs Badenoch's call for another inquiry, saying: "She didn't even implement the 20 recommendations of the Jay report ... I think that shows perhaps where trying to get noticed is becoming more important than the issue itself."

Sir Keir's comments follow a flurry of posts by Mr Musk on his social media site, X, in which the billionaire claimed safeguarding minister Jess Phillips ‘deserves to be in prison’ for denying requests for the Home Office to lead a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham, Greater Manchester, and called her a ‘rape genocide apologist’.

Sir Keir also said the online debate about child sexual exploitation was based on lies, with politicians ‘jumping on the bandwagon’.

Responding to questions about comments made by Mr Musk, Sir Keir said "a line has been crossed" when Ms Phillips and others receive serious threats as a result of the ‘poison of the far-right’.

Speaking to The Star, Detective Chief Inspector Scott Harrison, South Yorkshire Police’s force lead for child sexual exploitation, said: “Exploitation of children, in all its forms, is abhorrent, and tackling it remains a priority for the force.

“Since the publication of the Jay Report in 2014, our understanding and handling of cases of child sexual exploitation (CSE) in South Yorkshire has evolved and developed considerably.

“We have shaped our policing response after listening to the experiences of victims and survivors of these horrific crimes, and their courage and bravery has instigated this crucial change to policing.

"The force has publicly recognised its past failings in terms of its response to CSE and we remain absolutely committed to safeguarding victims of exploitation in any form and conducting thorough investigations to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice."

If you are concerned about child exploitation, or if you think you are being exploited, please report it.

Please call 999 in an emergency or if a crime is taking place.

You can also report CSE to South Yorkshire Police by calling 101 or using their online reporting portal: https://www.southyorkshire.police.uk/ro/report/.