http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/news-opinion/rotherham-child-abuse-rape-abuse-7679794
Rotherham child abuse: The rape and abuse of children should be a wake-up call for all of Wales and the UK
27 August 2014 03:37 PM By David*Williamson
The failure of authorities to address the abuse on their doorstep is a scandal for Rotherham that must never be repeated
The story of how victims of child abuse were let down by the authorities has shocked the nation - but could it happen again?
It couldn't
The revelation that at least 1,400 children were abused over 16 years by gangs in Rotherham will leave parents and young people alike with a sick, knotted feeling in their stomachs.
This week’s report detailed the cruelty that victims and their families suffered at the hands of paedophiles who knew how to manipulate and intimidate individuals.
Almost as shocking is the account of how the council, social services and the police failed to protect victims; reports were ignored or suppressed and victims were treated with “contempt”.
According to the report, “children as young as 11 were deemed to be having consensual sexual intercourse when in fact they were being raped and abused by adults”.
VIEW GALLERY *
Just as notorious cases of child abuse in North Wales care homes pushed the issue of the dangers facing looked-after children up the agenda across the UK, so the appalling events in Rotherham are a wake-up call for communities up and down the country.
Can Britain claim to be a civilised society when a gang is able to abuse so many young people with apparent impunity?
*
Alexis Jay, the former chief inspector of social work in Scotland, wrote in her report: “They were raped by multiple perpetrators, trafficked to other towns and cities in the north of England, abducted, beaten, and intimidated. There were examples of children who had been doused in petrol and threatened wit
H
Rotherham child abuse: The rape and abuse of children should be a wake-up call for all of Wales and the UK
27 August 2014 03:37 PM By David*Williamson
The failure of authorities to address the abuse on their doorstep is a scandal for Rotherham that must never be repeated
The story of how victims of child abuse were let down by the authorities has shocked the nation - but could it happen again?
It couldn't
The revelation that at least 1,400 children were abused over 16 years by gangs in Rotherham will leave parents and young people alike with a sick, knotted feeling in their stomachs.
This week’s report detailed the cruelty that victims and their families suffered at the hands of paedophiles who knew how to manipulate and intimidate individuals.
Almost as shocking is the account of how the council, social services and the police failed to protect victims; reports were ignored or suppressed and victims were treated with “contempt”.
According to the report, “children as young as 11 were deemed to be having consensual sexual intercourse when in fact they were being raped and abused by adults”.
VIEW GALLERY *
Just as notorious cases of child abuse in North Wales care homes pushed the issue of the dangers facing looked-after children up the agenda across the UK, so the appalling events in Rotherham are a wake-up call for communities up and down the country.
Can Britain claim to be a civilised society when a gang is able to abuse so many young people with apparent impunity?
*
Alexis Jay, the former chief inspector of social work in Scotland, wrote in her report: “They were raped by multiple perpetrators, trafficked to other towns and cities in the north of England, abducted, beaten, and intimidated. There were examples of children who had been doused in petrol and threatened wit
H
