Grooming gang survivors say political ‘tug of war’ must stop before inquiry

1 day ago

The political “tug of war with vulnerable women” abused by grooming gangs must stop before a new national inquiry into the crimes, survivors have told the Guardian.Holly Archer and Scarlett Jones, two survivors who played a key role in a “gold-standard” local inquiry in Telford, have urged politicians and those without experience of abuse to allow women to shape the investigation.“We have to put politics aside when it comes to child sexual exploitation, we have to stop this tug of war with vulnerable women,” said Archer, the author of I Never Gave My Consent: A Schoolgirl’s Life Inside the Telford Sex Ring.“There are so many voices that need to be heard.There’s some voices, though, that need to step away,” she said.

“We can do it, let us do it – we don’t need you to speak on our behalf.”Jones, who works with Archer at the Holly Project, a support service helping survivors of child sexual exploitation (CSE) and their families, said: “There are so many people out there at this moment exploiting the exploited – it’s happening all the time.”The government announced on Monday that police would collect ethnicity data for all cases of child sexual abuse, after a report from Louise Casey found evidence of “overrepresentation” of men of Asian and Pakistani heritage among suspects in local data collected in Greater Manchester, West and South Yorkshire.But Casey also urged the public to “keep calm” over the ethnicities of grooming gang offenders, saying police data from one region suggested that the races of child abuse suspects were proportional with the local population.Archer, who founded the Holly Project, said the collection of ethnicity data of offenders had to improve but also urged those discussing CSE not to rely on stereotypes surrounding perpetrators or their victims.

While she was groomed from the age of 14 by men of Pakistani origin, the majority of men who went on to “buy” her and rape her as a child were Chinese.Jones, the author of Just a Girl, said she was first abused within her own white family, then enticed into a grooming gang.“Nobody wants to know about that because that doesn’t meet their narrative,” Archer said.“You’re told that you’re just not relevant, that it didn’t really happen to you anyway.You’re a liar.

You’re a fake person.”Archer said she no longer used social media after facing threats.“I’ve been called a paedophile myself, a paedophile enabler, a grooming gang supporter.They said they hope my daughter gets raped.It’s just constant.

”She also described being given a leaflet by the far-right Britain First political movement in Telford after her book was published in 2016.“They handed me leaflets that had quotes from my own book in them,” she said.“They didn’t know it was me, and they were telling me I was very pro what they were doing.It was insane.”Archer and Jones, who both use pseudonyms and are not pictured to protect themselves and their families, both welcomed the recommendations made by Casey, particularly the involvement of the National Crime Agency (NCA), which will lead a national push to reopen historical group-based child sexual abuse cases.

The inquiry, as well as being victim-led, also had to establish a definition of child sexual exploitation, which could differ in different agencies and police forces, the women said.The inquiry will involve five existing local inquiries into grooming gangs being coordinated by an independent commission with full statutory inquiry powers, which Archer said would provide much-needed accountability.“It is really important that the localised aspect is not lost,” she said.In Telford, where a three-year independent inquiry into the scale of CSE concluded in 2022 that hundreds of children had been sexually exploited over decades, victims were consulted from the beginning, Jones said.Survivors, including the Holly Project, then helped the council to implement changes.

“At a national level, I don’t want them to lose the part where survivors are actually the people telling them what needs to be done,” she said,The pair are both critical of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse led by Prof Alexis Jay, which Jones described as “absolutely pointless”,“Years later, nothing has been done, none of the recommendations have been implemented,” she said,“The worry is that that is what will happen again,”Above all, the pair want to see a shift in the national conversation so that children are always treated as victims, and not seen – as they were – as complicit in their own abuse.

“We need one statutory procedure that says if a child is suspected to be at risk of exploitation, we are going to wrap care around them and their family to make sure that they are safe,” Archer said,“We need survivors to feel safe enough just to live their life, be happy and know that they’re worth having that happiness,” In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000,The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331,In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453.

In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380.Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International.

foodSee all

Australian supermarket tahini taste test: one of the worst is ‘thick enough to build a sandcastle’

From bitter and gritty to one that pours ‘like warm honey’, Nicholas Jordan finds surprising variety in 18 jars of paste made with the same single ingredientGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailIf you value our independent journalism, we hope you’ll consider supporting us todayThis morning I made myself a tahini latte. The morning before, I mixed tahini with yoghurt and powdered ginger and poured it over my muesli. I use tahini in salad dressings, in sauces for spicy noodles, I’ve even put it in pesto. But until a few weeks ago, I only had the most vague idea of which tahini I liked or not (I just knew to avoid any brands in the health aisle) and I suspect I’m not the only picnic-attending hummus-maker that needs an education.I gathered 18 supermarket aisle tahinis and four reviewers (including Syrian Australian author and chef Sharon Salloum, and Tuli Keidar, a friend who came close to dedicating their life to hummus before joining the coffee industry) for a blind taste test

3 days ago

The secret to crisp tofu | Kitchen aide

I want to like tofu, but I don’t because of its rubbery texture. How do I make it nice and crisp? Anne, by email “Moisture is the enemy of crisp tofu,” says Emma Chung, author of Easy Chinese Food Anyone Can Make, so the quest for cubes of bean curd that are crisp on the outside and soft on the inside starts by getting rid of as much excess water as possible (and choosing a tofu labelled “firm” or “extra-firm” in the first place). “I usually do this by wrapping the tofu in tea towels, placing it between two large plates and putting a heavy pot or pan on top,” Chung says. After 10 minutes, you “should have a nice and firm tofu that will have a lovely texture, and it will be a lot easier to crisp up”.Guardian columnist Ravinder Bhogal, meanwhile, pops her tofu on a wire rack set over a tray and covers it with kitchen paper or a clean cloth: “Put a weight on top and leave it for a couple of hours, and ideally overnight – that will squeeze out the excess moisture

3 days ago

José Pizarro’s recipe for broad bean and mint tortilla with a manchego crust

In Spain we say, “Habas en abril empiezan y en abril se acaban” – that is, broad beans begin in April and end in April. In the UK, the season starts a bit later, around June, so we’ve got a bit more time yet to enjoy them. Still, the season is short, so I use these wonderful beans as much as I can, while I can. This is the kind of dish I’d make on a quiet afternoon: simple, full of flavour, nothing fancy. Just a nice way to enjoy what the season gives you, before it disappears again for another year

3 days ago

Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for tandoori chicken skewers with coriander chutney | Quick and easy

I’ve been on a quest for the perfect tandoori marinade (without the E numbers or red food colouring) for years, and tweak my recipe on every repeat. This one is easily my favourite so far: the cloves lend a wonderful smokiness, and if you can pop the chicken in the marinade in the morning, it will have taken on an amazing depth of flavour by the evening. This would work just as well on a barbecue – just scale up the amount of chicken and the marinade ingredients as needed.You will need four large metal or bamboo skewers (if using the latter, soak them in water for half an hour first). Serve with flatbreads or naan, and shredded lettuce, if you wish

4 days ago

Pastry perfection: Anna Higham’s recipes for chicken and herb pie and foldover pissaladière

Warmer weather always has me dreaming of elaborate picnics, just like the ones my mum used to take us on as kids. She made superlative chicken pies, and I always think of them at this time of year. Mum would use shop-bought pastry, but here I’ve made a herby rough puff to up the summery feeling. The onion and anchovy turnovers, meanwhile, are the perfect pocket savouries to keep you going on a long walk or day out. You could always make one batch of pastry and halve the amount of both fillings, so you can have some of each

4 days ago

How to make chocolate chip cookies – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass

Once upon a time, not so long ago, the only so-called chocolate chip cookies on offer in the UK were, in fact, biscuits – small, brittle ones peppered with tiny, waxy, cocoa-coloured pellets. When I finally discovered the soft, chewy American originals in a subterranean outlet at Birmingham New Street station, my teenage mind was officially blown. These are even better.Prep 25 min, plus chilling Cook 15 min Makes 15120g room-temperature butter 170g dark chocolate 75g light brown sugar 75g granulated sugar ½ tsp vanilla extract A pinch of salt 1 egg, beaten240g plain flour ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda Sea salt flakes (optional)Make sure your butter is soft enough to beat – if your kitchen is very cold, or you’ve forgotten to get it out of the fridge in time, dice it and leave it out on the counter while you gather together the rest of the ingredients. I tend to use salted butter for baking, as for everything else, but it’s up to you

5 days ago

societySee all