Statement from Jim McMahon MP – On the Publication of the Casey Review into Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

I strongly welcome the publication of Baroness Casey’s review into group-based child sexual exploitation. This is a vital and long overdue step towards justice for victims and survivors across the country.

Child sexual abuse is one of the most horrific crimes imaginable. Young girls, often in care or with vulnerabilities, exploited, abused, and traumatised by groups of adult men, then let down again by the very institutions that were supposed to protect them. The scale and nature of these crimes demand a national response, rooted in justice, accountability, and the safety of every child.

For over a decade I have been raising awareness of this issue and took it to Parliament to press for action on behalf of families and survivors in Oldham. I have seen the pain these failures caused, but also the courage and persistence of those who refused to be silenced, and groups like KOGS (Keeping Our Girls Safe) and others who have stood firm in demanding change.

𝙂𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨

The Government has accepted all 12 recommendations in the review including a new national statutory inquiry. Oldham is already underway with a locally led inquiry and the Government will soon confirm how that will develop.

The Government has also confirmed a coordinated national criminal operation. We have seen some successful prosecutions in Oldham and neighbouring towns, but it is vital victims and survivors here benefit from the national criminal operation.

I also welcome the commitment to review and overturn the criminal convictions of those who were criminalised as children while being exploited, something I have repeatedly advocated for. It is not right that victims go on to suffer more as a result of the convictions handed down at the time of abuse. That is wrong and will now be put right.

I’m pleased to see action being taken to close the loophole on taxi licensing. Oldham and Greater Manchester has taken action over a long period of time to drive up standards, but that isn’t consistent across the country and local efforts are being undermined by ‘out of area’ drivers. I fully support the introduction of stronger national standards, and local enforcement will help to rebuild public confidence and keep people safe.

It also recommends making it mandatory for the police to collect ethnicity and nationality data on all suspects in child sexual abuse and exploitation cases, and to improve the collection of data on victims.

As we move forward, it is vital that victims and survivors remain at the heart of everything we do. Their bravery in coming forward, often in the face of disbelief and indifference, is the reason this review exists. We must now deliver the justice and reform they have long fought for.

𝙏𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣

And while the Government will rightly act on these new recommendations, it is also moving quickly to secure recommendations in the previous 7-year national Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse by Professor Alexis Jay which sat waiting under the previous government, and which will now be voted for in the Crime and Policing Bill. These include introducing a legal duty for professionals to report child sexual exploitation, and making grooming an aggravating factor in sentencing so that offenders feel the full weight of the law to reflect the horrific abuse they carried out.

Forces across the country have been tasked with identifying cases closed without further action for formal review. This now includes over 800 cases, but it is likely to exceed over a thousand. It shows the scale of the task ahead, and the urgency needed.

This review must mark a turning point. With full implementation of its recommendations, we have an opportunity to right past wrongs and build a future where safeguarding, justice, and support are delivered without compromise. I will continue to work with colleagues across Parliament, with local authorities, and with survivors themselves to make sure that the mistakes of the past are never repeated.

𝙊𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮

The report makes clear that there were examples of authorities who failed to address the issue head on. Transparency is essential both to instil public confidence and to raise awareness.

All aspects of abuse in all forms must be set out, so the public are fully informed and to reduce the risk of harm; especially the rising risk of online grooming and exploitation, and the risks to young girls and boys alike. But the gravity of this particular form of abuse is significant, it has specific characteristics of the victims targeted and perpetrators who seek to abuse them.

I set out in a post now over a decade ago why I felt this was so important, and it holds today;

“𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘙𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘮, 𝘖𝘹𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘙𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘖𝘭𝘥𝘩𝘢𝘮 – 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘗𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘪 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 – 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦…”

“…𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 – 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘶𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 – 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵.”

“𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩.”

“𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵, 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺.

“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 – 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵.

“𝘐𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘹𝘺𝘨𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳-𝘶𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘱𝘴. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺.”