South Yorkshire Police: Rotherham child abuse survivors share experiences of shameful treatment by police

The shameful way in which some victims and survivors of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham were treated by police has been laid bare in a new report.
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In the report’s foreword, IOPC Director General Michael Lockwood said investigators found that officers were ‘not fully aware, or able, to deal with child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSA/E) offences’ and showed ‘insufficient empathy’ towards survivors who were vulnerable children and young people.

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The report details the experiences and views of survivors of CSE in the town. The Professor Jay report, released in 2014, concluded that failures by police and politicians contributed to the sexual exploitation of around 1,400 children in Rotherham by groups of men in the town.

The £6million report by police watchdog, The Independent Office for Police Conduct, has examined South Yorkshire Police’s (SYP) responses to allegations of child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSA/E) in the town between 1997 and 2013. Picture: AdobeThe £6million report by police watchdog, The Independent Office for Police Conduct, has examined South Yorkshire Police’s (SYP) responses to allegations of child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSA/E) in the town between 1997 and 2013. Picture: Adobe
The £6million report by police watchdog, The Independent Office for Police Conduct, has examined South Yorkshire Police’s (SYP) responses to allegations of child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSA/E) in the town between 1997 and 2013. Picture: Adobe

Mr Lockwood added: “Survivors’ complaints reveal they were not always believed when reporting what had happened to them and this has had a lasting impact on their lives and their trust and confidence in the police.”

One survivor, who was sexually exploited from the age of 14 told IOPC investigators they frequently went missing from home, generally to be with their older ‘boyfriend’ and came into contact with officers three or four times a week.

They said: “When I look back now, I can’t believe how many times I came into contact with the police and how many chances they had to question me…but didn’t.”

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Another survivor revealed how they were told more than a dozen times that they were responsible for their behaviour for being sexually exploited and abused by grown men when they were just 13-years-old.

She said: “No matter what bad experience I was going through there was never any concern for me as a child. I don’t recall a single time when the police treated me like I was a vulnerable child. Looking back, I now realise they had ‘adult expectations’ from children regardless of a child’s age.”

The IOPC report states that it had contact with around 75 survivors up until August 2020, and the legacy of what they endured includes issues such as: poor mental and physical health; problems with fertility and ongoing sexual

health concerns; becoming enmeshed in criminal behaviour and leaving the place they called home, for good, because of family/community pressure to not report CSA/E incidents.

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One survivor detailed their additional distress at having to relive her horrific experiences, and explained that had they been listened to years ago, they would not have been forced to ‘fact this all again’.

The report outlines the experience of a CSA/E survivor who was involved in multi-agency training in South Yorkshire.

They said officers ‘often looked uninterested in their shared experiences, or tried to discredit their story, while other officers expressed frustrations about the role of the police in tackling CSA/E’.

The survivor claimed officers often asked inappropriate questions, such as ‘are you able to enjoy sex?’.

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Speaking after the publication of the report, Deputy Chief Constable, Tim Forber said: “We let victims of CSE down. We failed to recognise their vulnerability and failed to see them as victims, for that I am deeply sorry. They deserved better from us.”

“The brave accounts of these girls caused a seismic change in policing crimes of this nature for South Yorkshire Police and the wider police service.

"Since then we have worked closely with experts in this field, and with our partner agencies to develop effective and robust systems – systems recognised in this way in a recent independent examination of our current practice. We listened to the voices of those affected and learnt the lessons of the past. Those lessons have been embedded in everything we do.

“We now have dedicated multi-agency teams in Rotherham working closely to share intelligence on suspects and to identify children who may be at risk. We use the collective powers and authorities of the agencies represented in the group to explore that intelligence and take action at the earliest opportunity, to prevent harm wherever possible.

“Where harm does occur, we work compassionately and with utmost professionalism to stop that harm, to seek justice and to ensure the girls are properly safeguarded.

“We have invested in new IT systems and dramatically improved our crime recording.

“We prioritise the protection of vulnerable people and have a deep and ingrained understanding of CSE in all of its forms. We have campaigns in the community to help members of the public spot the early signs and report it to us. We have also created best practice in training workers in key roles who may have opportunity to spot the signs such as hotel staff, takeaway staff, and staff at leisure facilities.”