Why we must challenge divisive ‘grooming gangs’ narratives


Why we must challenge divisive ‘grooming gangs’ narratives

Fortnightly Bulletin

Written by: IRR News Team


7 – 21 January 2025

Less than six months after the far-right orchestrated racist riots that targeted asylum accommodation and mosques, comes a new bout of dog-whistle Islamophobia, fomented by Elon Musk who reposted forty tweets on the UK’s child sexual exploitation and ‘grooming gangs’ in 24 hours, also calling for the release of jailed far-right activist Tommy Robinson. Conservative and Reform leaders Badenoch and Farage swiftly leapt onto the bandwagon, repeating Musk’s calls for a new national inquiry into the ‘national rape gangs scandal’, as documented in our calendar of racism and resistance.

What has since transpired is the spectacle of a Dutch auction between the parties as to which could be tougher on ‘grooming gangs’, culminating with home secretary Yvette Cooper’s volte-face announcement of an ‘urgent national review’ of past cases of child sexual exploitation involving ‘grooming gangs’, examining the ethnicity and demographics of abusers and victims, as well as ‘the cultural and societal drivers for this type of offending, including amongst different ethnic groups’. This will take place alongside a series of local inquiries, to be piloted in five towns including Oldham. While we wait to see how Baroness Louise Casey, who is heading the national review, will frame issues of ethnicity and culture, the direction of travel is not promising. In an interview with GB News before the new national inquiry was announced, Kemi Badenoch had demanded precisely this focus, on the grounds that ‘grooming gangs’ are made up of ‘peasants’ from ‘sub-communities’.

The government’s capitulation came only days after Starmer rejected a national inquiry, and despite warnings from a whistleblower, the previous inquiry’s chair and senior police officers about the politicisation of the issue and the impact on survivors.

Thankfully, there are signs of civil society and professional unease over sensationalised parliamentary politics. Over seventy academics, charities and experts on exploitation, advocating for a responsible approach that puts support for all victims and survivors first, have pointed out that the portrayal of sexual violence as a crime unique to one community hinders their ability as professionals to identify and understand the many ways exploitation cases can present. And, crucially, they state, it also causes harm in those communities impacted by ‘divisive narratives’. Over the last two weeks, these harms have been manifest. Muslim and South Asian communities and anyone critical of the ‘grooming gangs’ narrative are being targeted with social media abuse and NGOs are reporting multiple acts of racist violence against asylum seekers in Home Office accommodation.


The Institute of Race Relations is precluded from expressing a corporate view: any opinions expressed are therefore those of the authors.

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