Don’t lose trust of CSE victims as Rotherham faces new uncomfortable truth

Whistleblower Jayne Senior has found herself at the centre of an inquiry in Rotherham requested by CSE victims.

IT is sadly ironic that youth worker Jayne Senior MBE, a whistleblower who was on the side of victims of the Rotherham grooming scandal, has been accused ?of betraying the confidences, and trust, of a group of CSE survivors following a three-year independent investigation into her work at Swinton Lock Activity Centre.

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What should have been a place of support, and comfort, for those women who were subjected to the most appalling abuse before the police, and other agencies, started taking the allegations seriously, and bringing some of the perpetrators to justice, the new findings are just the latest uncomfortable truth that needs to be confronted.

MBE for youth worker they said was lying when she exposed Rotherham grooming scandal

Jayne Senior was honoured at the 2016 Yorkshire Women of Achievement awards.

And the context is critical. There are some who say Mrs Senior’s exposure of Rotherham Council’s failings, culminating in the publication of a book chronicling the abuse scandal, was influential in changing public – and political – attitudes in favour of victims.

Yet, as this report confirms, some women – people who put their trust in Mrs Senior – believe that she put her own notoriety ahead of the needs and rights of victims.

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Given how a recurring theme of the scandal has been the failure to take victims seriously, Rotherham Council does, in this instance, deserve recognition for acknowledging these concerns and ordering  an inquiry.

Rotherham remains scarred by the CSE scandal.

{https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/latest-news/rotherham-victims-left-without-answers-as-staff-and-councillors-stay-silent-1-8740890|Rotherham victims left without answers as staff and councillors stay silent|Read here]

A time-consuming process, such investigations are, nevertheless, crucial to the restoration of trust – a process which, regrettably, will take many years because the fallout from the scandal is so complex.

But it is also another reminder, if one was needed, about why the wishes of victims, often vulnerable individuals who have good reason to be deeply suspicious of those in positions of power, have to be at the heart of all decisions related to their welfare. They remain the most important people in this sorry story.

Don’t lose trust of CSE victims as Rotherham faces new uncomfortable truth – The Yorkshire Post says