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'Three Girls' -
Unless we learn the lessons, the exploitation and abuse will only continue
"VIEWERS have quite understandably
been shocked by the 1st episode of the 3 part BBC real life drama Three
Girls about the horrific abuse suffered by vulnerable children and young
people in Rochdale. But unless we take the lessons to heart the exploitation
and abuse will only continue..." says national charity:- "Family Education
Trust."
What happened in Rochdale was not unique. Over the past 5 years, serious
case reviews have reported on child sexual exploitation perpetrated against
vulnerable young women in regions as far apart as Torbay, Liverpool,
Thurrock, Oxfordshire, Hampshire and Bristol. In addition, in 2014 Professor
Alexis Jay published the findings of her independent inquiry into child
sexual exploitation in Rotherham between 1997 to 2013.
Family Education Trust director, Norman Wells, whose review of these reports
was published last week observed:- "All 8 reports tell the same story
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underage sex was viewed as a normal part of growing up and relatively
harmless provided it was consensual. Again and again it was assumed that the
girls were making 'lifestyle choices.' There was a readiness among
professionals to routinely provide contraception in confidence, without
considering the possibility that the young people may be suffering abuse. The reports in Rochdale and the other regions reveal an inclination to
treat children under the age of 16 as adults with the competence to make
their own decisions with regard to sexual activity and a tendency to dismiss
the concerns of their parents out of hand."
One of the 2 Rochdale serious case reviews notes that it was:- "absolutely
clear that the problems were much more deep rooted than can be explained as
failings at an individual level." There were "widely held and deep
rooted attitudes" on the part of professionals whose assumption that the
teenagers were making meaningful choices about how they lived their lives
was "fundamentally misconceived."
Norman Wells commented:- "The underlying problems are social, cultural
and moral. It is time to grasp the nettle and get to the root of the crisis.
A review of professional attitudes towards underage sexual activity is long
overdue.
We also need an investigation into the unintended consequences of teenage
pregnancy strategies which have a focus on sex education and the
confidential provision of contraception, abortion and treatment for sexually
transmitted infections.
If we continue to turn a blind eye to the root causes of the current
malaise, we can expect to see yet more horrific cases of child sexual
exploitation."
"Unprotected; How the normalisation of underage sex is exposing children
and young people to the risk of sexual exploitation" by Norman Wells was
published by Family Education Trust, on 8 May 2017, 152pp, ISBN:-
978-0-906229-24-8, ₤7.50. |
