Grooming gangs: Sarah Champion says postcode lottery of support for victims is 'woeful'
Sarah Champion, the Labour MP for Rotherham, hit out at a postcode lottery across the country of whether victims have access to proper support services.
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Hide Ad“We’ve now got perpetrators who are about to be released and victims are finding out by accident,” Ms Champion said.
“That should never be happening. Trying to report things in, whether you get any support or not, is down to local resources.”
Ms Champion made the point that successful prosecutions, which are still going on into grooming gang suspects across Yorkshire, are down to “victims being good witnesses”.
“If they’re scared, if they’re not supported, if they’re suffering from mental health issues, you’re not going to get the conviction,” she explained.
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“It’s in no one’s interest. These people have been very, very damaged - and it’s our duty as a state to help them rebuild.”
“They seem to be entirely forgotten particularly with the online discourse of this issue and the politicisation of this issue.
“That’s always been my concern and it’s why I’ve tried desperately not to get involved in that row or that conversation, because frankly that should always be how can we best help the victims of that abuse, and put in place the systems and processes in place to ensure that it doesn’t ever happen again.”
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Hide AdReferencing the intervention of Elon Musk, Mr Coppard said: “That will always be my focus, not having an online row with a billionaire from California.”
He added: “My focus is on how do we support victims, how do we make sure this never happens again, in places like Rotherham, and that is where I will put my attention.
“I think in South Yorkshire, as a result of what we’ve been through, we’ve been making sure that it’s absolutely at the forefront of everyone’s work and attention in how they do their jobs.”
Det Ch Insp Scott Harrison, who is South Yorkshire Police child sexual exploitation lead, said since 2014 the force’s understanding and handling of these cases “has evolved and developed considerably”.
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Hide AdHe added: “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.”
Nicola Curley, from Rotherham Council, said: “We will never be complacent about the threat from people who wish to sexually abuse children, and those people are still in our community, as they are in every community.
“The failings at that time in Rotherham in relation to child protection were wholly unacceptable and the Council and partners continue to do all that we can to support the victims of those horrific crimes.
“Over the last 10 years, we have been committed to listening to the voice and lived experience of victims and survivors in order to drive forward improvements.
“We are determined, alongside our partners, to working to ensure that Rotherham is a safe place for our children and young people.”