December 05, 2018:
The ‘Religiously Aggravated Sexual Exploitation of Young Sikh Women Across the UK’ report, collated by the Sikh Mediation And Rehabilitation Team (SMART) & Sikh Youth UK.
British Sikh girls being targeted by Pakistani-origin grooming gangs for sexual abuse & exploitation over the years have not received full attention of authorities due to political correctness, claims a new report released on Monday.
The ‘Religiously Aggravated Sexual Exploitation of Young Sikh Women Across the UK’ report, collated by the Sikh Mediation And Rehabilitation Team (SMART) & Sikh Youth UK, received the backing of parliamentarians as it called for an investigation into the pattern of abuse dating back decades.
“Since the early 1980s, evidence collated by British Sikh organisations has recorded cases of sexual abuse & exploitation against young Sikh females by grooming gangs populated by perpetrators of primarily Pakistani or Muslim heritage,” the report noted.
Researchers are keen to highlight that the study was not undertaken as a “witch-hunt against any individual, community, culture or faith” but as a means to provide some “clear understanding & acceptance” of key factors contributing to the risk.
Among the factors influencing the trend, the report flagged that some early Sikh migrants claim the organised targeting of Sikh females was conducted, in part, as “retaliation” for the involvement of Sikh soldiers in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. It also documents a string of recent high-profile prosecutions of Pakistani-origin grooming gangs who targeted white British schoolgirls in areas such as Rochdale & Rotherham.
“With the emergence of multiple similar cases across the UK, the perceived failure to act has now been attributed to the ‘political correctness’ that inhibited authorities & agencies from addressing the racial & cultural dimensions understood as causative factors behind the abuse,” the report noted.
It added: “Many within the Sikh community have advocated that it is of the utmost importance that British justice operates on a level playing field. However, where it is clear that a child is at threat or targeted for abuse due to race or religion, it is essential that the recording & prosecution of cases reflects all aspects surrounding the abuse.”
Veteran Indian-origin Labour Party MP Virendra Sharma welcomed the findings that would help tackle the wider issue of child abuse by ensuring that while police are sensitive, they act “effectively” to prevent any immediate risk.
“Steps to end the stigma of reporting abuse & end the culture of silence, referred to in the report, are key but will require many years of difficult intervention. I will be pleased to support steps to end any systematic targeting & this report is a key step in that fight,” said Sharma, who represents the west London constituency of Ealing Southall with a large British Sikh population.
His views were echoed by fellow Labour Party MP Sarah Champion, who has been very vocal over the issue of child sexual grooming as many Pakistani-origin men from her constituency of Rotherham were jailed for sexual abuse & rape of schoolgirls.
The issue hit the headlines in recent weeks as six British Pakistanis were sentenced to a total of 101 years behind bars last month for sexually grooming & abusing young girls in the northern England town of Rotherham. UK home secretary Sajid Javid, himself of Pakistani origin, had taken to Twitter to condemn the “sick Asian paedophiles” & attracted some backlash for singling out a particular community.
On Monday, he defended his comments once again, saying: “Any normal person looking at the recent convictions of gangs that abuse children would have noticed that a vast majority are from a Pakistani heritage & we cannot ignore that. If you do ignore that, if you sit in a position of power like me & you ignore that, what you actually end up doing is fuelling the voices of extremism that are out there that will then prey on that.”
The UK Home Office said that child sexual abuse has been categorised as a “national threat”, with the government investing millions of pounds to enable officers to actively seek out & bring offenders to justice.
“Group-based child sexual exploitation is a complex issue & the government is working to improve our understanding of how to prevent this heinous crime,” a statement said.
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