|
Widespread organised child sexual abuse took place in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, between 1997 and 2013. Local investigations into the abuse began in 1999, although some reports were never finalised or made public by the authorities.〔 In 2010, five men of Pakistani heritage were found guilty of a series of sexual offences against girls as young as twelve. A subsequent investigation by ''The Times'' reported that the child sex exploitation was much more widespread, and the Home Affairs Select Committee criticised the South Yorkshire Police force and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council for their handling of the abuse. An independent inquiry into child sexual abuse in the town, led by Professor Alexis Jay, was established in 2013 for Rotherham Council. The inquiry's initial report, published on 26 August 2014, condemned the failure of the authorities in Rotherham to act effectively against the abuse and even, in some cases, to acknowledge that it was taking place.〔 It conservatively estimated that 1,400 children had been sexually abused in the town between 1997 and 2013, predominantly by gangs of British-Pakistani men. Abuses described by the report included abduction, rape, torture and sex trafficking of children.〔 Members of the British-Pakistani community condemned both the sexual abuse and that it had been covered up for fear of "giving oxygen" to racism. The leader of Rotherham Borough Council, Roger Stone, resigned, as did the council's Chief Executive, Martin Kimber, and the director of children's services, Joyce Thacker. Shaun Wright, the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for South Yorkshire who had been a Labour councillor in charge of child safety at the council, stood down on 16 September, after initially refusing demands that he should do so. The Home Secretary, Theresa May, blamed the failure of the authorities in Rotherham on "institutionalised political correctness", and Denis MacShane, the former MP for Rotherham during the period covered by the report, admitted that he had been "guilty of doing too little" to investigate the extent of the sex crimes being committed in his constituency.〔( Gordon Rayner, "Denis MacShane: I was too much of a 'liberal leftie' and should have done more to investigate child abuse", ''The Telegraph'', 27 August 2014 ). Retrieved 30 August 2014〕 Independent inquiries were set up into the actions of both South Yorkshire Police and Rotherham Borough Council, to examine their roles in investigating the allegations and their procedures and practices.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Rotherham child abuse scandal: South Yorkshire Police starts probe )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Rotherham Council to be subject of independent inspection )〕 Further allegations of a cover-up, including the theft of documents from a council researcher's office, were made in a Home Affairs Select Committee report in October 2014.〔 In February 2015, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, announced that an independent report prepared by Louise Casey considered the council to be "not fit for purpose", and elected councillors would be replaced by a team of five commissioners, including one tasked specifically with looking at children's services.〔 ==Background== In the early to mid 1990s, social workers came across examples of child sexual abuse, and amid concern about young people being trafficked through prostitution in Rotherham, a youth project, Risky Business, working with people between the ages of 11 and 25 was set up in 1997. In 2002, a chapter of a draft Home Office report into child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Rotherham reported "high prevalence of young women being coerced and abused through prostitution". Senior officers at the council and the police objected to the report, suggesting that some facts were either exaggerated or made up and the report was never completed.〔 The draft report suggested that there were more than 270 victims of abuse, and a Home Office official who investigated the case later accused the council of being involved in the unauthorised removal of data on the case from her office. A report in 2003 by Dr Angie Heal, commissioned by South Yorkshire Police, found "significant number of girls and some boys who are being sexually exploited" in Rotherham. In 2005, a new department of children and young people’s services was created with Councillor Shaun Wright appointed cabinet member for the department. A report by Heal in 2006 described the situation as an "organised and established sexual exploitation scene".〔 In 2008, Operation Central was set up to investigate men thought to be involved in child sexual abuse.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|