No more words, delays or empty promises on grooming gangs – it's time to act
4 min read
Over the last week there has been a lot of focus on child sexual exploitation by organised networks, colloquially known as grooming gangs.
I know this is an issue that resonates deeply, and will no doubt affect some of you personally. It is something I have been campaigning on for 12 years, alongside courageous victims and survivors, and sadly we have seen little change in that time.
I was involved in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) from its inception in 2015. It carried out 15 individual investigations, including into grooming gangs, as well as abuse in schools, care homes and church settings.
IICSA was comprehensive. It took seven years, processed over two million pages of evidence, 725 witnesses, and, most importantly, the testimonies of thousands of victims and survivors. It cost the taxpayer £186m.
In 2022, the inquiry published its final report with 20 recommendations, which gave us a clear path forward on how to tackle the national epidemic of child abuse. Since then, I have been pushing governments, of all colours, to adopt those recommendations as a matter of urgency.
Alongside this, I’ve spent years supporting various national reports specifically into grooming gangs. This includes the Home Office 2020 inquiry into ‘group-based child sexual exploitation’, and the separate IICSA investigation specifically into ‘child sexual exploitation by organised networks’, which lasted two years.
When it comes to grooming gangs, we know what the problem is. We know how to stop it. And yet we still haven’t implemented the solutions. I know there are heartfelt calls for yet another inquiry. Why? What more do we need to know before we put our resources into supporting victims and survivors and preventing this evil crime?
Inquiries take time and money. They make politicians appear like they are acting, when in fact they let us procrastinate and not tackle the national scandal our children are facing. For an inquiry to make a real difference, it needs to be locally owned but with statutory powers to hold those that failed to account.
The national IICSA inquiry was a painful experience for the brave victims and survivors, who shared their stories and relived devastating trauma in the hopes of improving the broken system for others. I pay tribute to all those involved.
‘Frustrating’ doesn’t come close to capturing the sense of anger and disgust many of us have felt as governments and authorities have failed to implement the inquiries’ recommendations. But our frustration is largely irrelevant. What must it feel like to be a survivor who has reported a crime, given testimony, trusted the process and still sees their perpetrator walking free?
Now we owe them the action that they were promised.
It is right to hold local inquiries where we need them, but we need more. We must hold perpetrators to account and make sure the police and local authorities are implementing early intervention, victim and survivor support, and securing prosecutions.
To those calling for another national inquiry, I encourage you to put all of your energy into urging the government to accept, adopt and resource the five-point plan I have published – which includes adopting all 20 IICSA recommendations. Parliament has always been at its best when we work cross-party to tackle the big issues of national importance. This is one of those moments.
We don’t need more words, more delays, more empty promises. We need a clear timetable from the government, with transparency around how they are going to fund the reforms we so desperately need to see.
I’m genuinely glad that we’re having this debate. But it will only have value if we see tangible change because of it. There are still survivors who do not have support. There are still victims being abused. There are still perpetrators that haven’t been brought to justice. We can change this.
Now is the time to act.
Sarah Champion is Labour MP for Rotherham
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