THE phrase “Muslim grooming gangs” must be scrapped, according to a new report which argues the term is inaccurate and perpetuates prejudice.
Muslim Engagement and Development (Mend) has produced a report which argues that there is no basis for portraying child sexual exploitation as a “uniquely” Muslim or Asian issue.
The report said: “Despite the fact that attempts to frame [child sexual exploitation] as uniquely the product of Asian/Muslim grooming gangs are not justified by the available quantitative data, the ‘grooming gangs trope' continues to be recycled by politicians.”
It pointed to examples from Tory politicians, including former home secretaries Sajid Javid and Suella Braverman, who have highlighted the race and religion of high-profile examples of grooming gangs.
Braverman in 2023 wrote an article for the Daily Mail which claimed that “almost all” men involved in grooming gangs were of Pakistani heritage, a claim the paper later clarified referred only to the examples of gangs operating in Rotherham and Rochdale.
Mend’s report said: “Ms Braverman made this allegation despite the fact that it had already been comprehensively refuted by Home Office research, which, as noted above, showed that most [child sexual exploitation] offenders are white men.
“In fact, the Home Office’s research concluded that, ‘it is not possible to draw any conclusions as to whether some ethnicities have a greater involvement in group-based offending compared with others’.”
The report also takes aim at a “deeply misleading” report by the now-defunct Quilliam Foundation think tank which claimed that 84% of men in grooming gangs were Asian.
Mend said: “The report concluded that Asian men carried out 84% of grooming incidents, a statistic which was subsequently circulated by numerous news outlets, as shown below. However, academic investigation into Quilliam’s claims revealed that the report had fatal methodological flaws.
“In particular, a searing academic critique of the work was published by Dr Ella Cockbain, who described it as ‘a case study in bad science’ which makes large, sweeping claims based on a tiny sub-sample of case studies.”
The Quillam Foundation report was also rubbished by the Home Office, which in 2020 raised concerns about its “lack of clarity about sampling and data analysis methods”. The department added: “These findings are therefore not suitable for drawing conclusions about the ethnicity of group-based [child sexual exploitation] offenders.”
Mend said that the narrative of “Muslim grooming gangs” had fuelled Islamophobia in the UK.
The report said: “Linking Muslims or Asians to grooming attacks not only reinforces harmful stereotypes but also has serious long-term consequences.
“By perpetuating the idea that individuals from these communities are more prone to such criminal activities, there is a risk of escalating hate crimes and far-right attacks on British Muslims and minority communities.”
It comes less than a year after far-right rioters wrecked havoc in towns and cities across England after false rumours spread about the identity of Southport killer Axel Rudakubana (below), including that he was a Muslim.
The report said that the media, commentators and politicians should abandon the terms Muslim or Asian grooming gangs in favour of “more neutral language to describe these crimes, regardless of the ethnic/religious background of those who commit them”.
It added: “Politicians who use [child sexual exploitation] to incite racial hatred and Islamophobia do nothing to protect children. Instead, they fuel division and reinforce harmful stereotypes that advance far-right agendas.
“The focus must remain on supporting victims, preventing further abuse, and developing lasting solutions to safeguard all children from harm. This is a societal issue that demands a response centered on justice and the well-being of those affected.”
Linsay Taylor, CEO of Mend, said: “The fact that child sexual exploitation is used as a political football in an attempt to score points against the opposition is and should be deeply offensive to us all. Child sexual exportation is a heinous crime that leaves victims with lifelong trauma.”
