Grooming gang victim’s outrage at bombshell report – ‘sacrificed for votes’ | Politics | News
Rape gang victims are being âsacrificed for votesâ amid fears of upsetting Pakistani and Asian communities, a survivor has warned.
Sammy Woodhouse, who was just 14 when she was raped by drug dealer Arshid Hussain in Rotherham, said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer should resign over one of Britainâs most shameful scandals.
Ms Woodhouse, 39, insisted the Government must order investigations into âeveryâ council and police force.
A bombshell report by Baroness Louise Casey said society cannot âmove onâ until âall the organisations involved are able to stand up and acknowledge the failures of the pastâ.
The Peer confirmed Pakistani and Asian men were âdisproportionatelyâ represented in grooming cases and warned crimes were covered up to protect community relations and avoid accusations of racism.
Asylum seekers and foreign nationals were also linked to a âsignificant proportionâ of cases. Baroness Casey said she felt ârage on behalf of the victimsâ because no one has been held accountable for the decisions they made.
And she warned ânobody is learning the lessons they should learn to make sure this doesnât happen againâ.
Ms Woodhouse, 39, told the Daily Express: âWe were sacrificed for votes. They know what the scale of this is. And they are very much in fear of upsetting the Pakistani, Muslim community.
âIt is a complete betrayal of girls in our country. Personally, I donât want an apology. I want resignations. Iâm writing an email to Keir Starmer saying he needs to stand down.
âI want accountability. I want people to face accountability. Whistleblowers like me have been put through absolute hell and back.â
The Prime Minister announced a statutory inquiry into grooming gangs at the weekend after refusing to do so for month and criticising those who were calling for an investigation âjumping on far-right bandwagonâ.
Children as young as 10 were singled out by predators, Baroness Caseyâs report revealed.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed the Government will accept the former civil servantâs 12 recommendations, including establishing the national inquiry and tightening up rape laws.
Baroness Casey suggested there had been a widespread cover-up, with public bodies using flawed data to enable them to dismiss claims about Asian grooming gangs as âsensationalised, biased or untrueâ.
And she said: âDespite reviews, reports and inquiries raising questions about men from Asian or Pakistani ethnic backgrounds grooming and sexually exploiting young white girls, the system has consistently failed to fully acknowledge this or collect accurate data so the issue can be examined effectively.â
Ms Woodhouse said: âWhat they need to do is a full investigation into every single council and police force.
âThat is the only way we are really going to get to the bottom of this.
âThey know what the scale of this problem is and theyâve just been brushing it under the carpet and hoping it will go away.
âItâs not going to go away. Itâs going to get bigger and bigger and bigger.
âIf you start doing an investigation into every council and police force, youâre going to uncover a lot of truth.
âIâm telling you now, itâs going to be happening in every town and city. I think they know that and thatâs why they are only picking a handful.
âWhen this was going on, they were trying to cover it up because of the race and religious element. People are so scared to upset communities.
âI donât give a toss what race or religion you are. If you are raping children, you should be held to account.
âThe evidence has always been there. The problem is, they donât want to do anything. The only reason they are doing something is because people like me are putting that constant pressure on.â
Baroness Casey, in her scathing report, revealed how predators and paedophiles targeted vulnerable young girls, particularly those in care, and would convince them they âlovedâ them.
The audit told how one 15-year-old was raped by an older man âand did not want to leave him or support a prosecutionâ because she believed they were in love.
Police and the local council were aware of the abuse, the report said, but did not take action.
Emma*, not her real name, was raped by three men after first being abused in 2012, aged just 13. Only the two ringleaders of the five-man gang have been jailed.
One of her rapists is set to be released from prison soon. This newspaper is withholding key details to protect Emmaâs identity.
She told the Daily Express: âWhen I lived in a childrenâs home, the care home allowed these abusers to be around us, to spend time with us, they allowed the abusers to enter the home, supply us with drugs and alcohol.
âThey were quite happy to allow it.
âThey were was no real justice.
âMy mum put me in care thinking they will do their best to look after me, but actually they didnât care about me at all. They allowed these men to groom us girls and make us believe they loved us and wanted us.â
The gang abused three girls, including two living at the care home.
Emma added: âA lot of it happened in their homes. They would supply alcohol and drugs and get us out of our heads, for them to do what they wanted to do to us.
âThe staff knew I was coming home high, they knew I was coming home with ripped clothes. The only people I was socialising with were these older men.
âPeople donât realise the impact and the trauma you go through. When you are a young girl, you donât expect to go through things like that. You always get flashbacks. I always feel like Iâm being used.
âChange needs to happen. It canât keep going on like this.
âYou make sure a child is getting placed in the right place. If a child discloses something, even if it is minute, you make sure you look into that.
âI kept telling the care home, not necessarily that I had been raped, but that I was hanging round with these guys, I was getting stoned.
âI felt failed by the police. Police have a duty of care to make sure I was protected at all times. But I felt like I was a troubled girl, to them. I would do things for a cry for help, like setting fire to a bin. When it did come out what happened to me, I felt like I had no support.
âEven to this day, even though court is done, probation officers get hold of me to give me updates. It has just ruined my whole life. Itâs never ending. Itâs just a constant battle.â
Whistleblower and campaigner Maggie Oliver added: âIf this was Keir Starmerâs daughter, I can tell you now, we wouldnât be in this position. It is 150% still going on.
âYou know, you speak to the victims, survivors, you go to any town in the north of England. I would say it is more prevalent in the north of England, from my experience. But it is going on everywhere.
âAnd the reason is, is that it is very rare that one of these men is ever arrested or charged. If a man who got a 13-year-old pregnant is out of prison in just over three years, that sends a signal out that actually itâs not a bad crime.
âHe should be in prison for the rest of his life.â
Richard Scorer, head of abuse law and public inquiries at Slater and Gordon who has represented multiple grooming gang victims: âWe welcome the announcement of a national investigation with statutory powers and the integration of local inquiries.
âHowever, critical questions remain unanswered. Is this truly a full public inquiry, or merely a âcommission,â as the Home Secretary described? The distinction matters deeply for victims, survivors, and the public.â