I had a meeting this week with a client who was the victim of grooming gangs in Rochdale. She suffered false imprisonment and repeated rape. She was threatened with knives to force compliance. She was exploited because she was vulnerable and in the care of the Local Authority. She has been left with a long term psychiatric injury as a result of her experiences and diagnosed with Emotional Unstable Personality Disorder. She will never work.
At about the same time as I was speaking with my client Parliament was again using sexual abuse of children and in particular grooming gangs as a political football. The politicians were attempting to score points in advance of the Local Authority elections. The Conservative Party appeared keen to criticise Labour led Local Authorities where grooming gangs were operating. The Labour Party refuses a National Inquiry into grooming gangs but still fails to implement the recommendations of Professor Jay.
This failure to implement all of her recommendations is having a profound impact on victims.
In the case of my client she submitted a claim to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority in 2015. This has still not been resolved nearly 10 years later. She was entitled to an award in the region of £250,000. She then had an altercation with a neighbour. It was a very minor matter and she received a Community Order as a result. It is a feature of her psychiatric injury that she does have anger management issues.
On the back of this conviction the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority have now refused her claim for compensation.
One of the specific recommendations of Professor Jay was that the Scheme be changed to address exactly this issue. In the view of the Independent Inquiry someone who sustains a psychiatric injury as a result of a criminal offence which then impacts on their own offending behaviour should not be refused compensation. I would stress that the Inquiry had specific workshops addressing issues arising from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme and made various recommendations to improve the Scheme for victims.
These have been ignored by the Government and as a result clients who have suffered appalling abuse such as my client are now being refused compensation which would help cover the costs of therapy and improve their future.
In my client’s case she has contacted her MP and also raised questions directly of Jess Phillips. Her last email to Jess Phillips set out in some detail the abuse suffered and the consequences of the Government’s failure to address Professor Jay’s recommendations and enact changes to the CICA Scheme. In her email she describes how a razor blade was held to her throat to force compliance with the grooming gangs. She describes having multiple men force her to have sex with them. She describes being drugged and imprisoned in a flat for 4 days.
For the records I do not believe that a National Inquiry into grooming gangs would serve any purpose. We have already had a National Inquiry. We already have a list of recommendations that would help victims of abuse. I believe it is time that the politicians stopped attempting to use grooming gangs and sexual abuse of children generally as a means to score points and addressed the issues that were raised by Professor Jay to improve the lives of so many young adults who continue to suffer serious psychiatric problems as a result of their childhood experiences.
Contact an Abuse Claims Specialist
If you have experienced abuse at the hands of grooming gangs, we understand it can be difficult to talk about your experiences. Our abuse claims specialists have years of experience acting for survivors in these type of claims and have found that completing the process can often bring a sense of closure for them. We understand the complexity of the process and will always fight our clients corner to ensure they receive the redress they deserve. For a confidential discussion with one of our specialists, please call 0330 134 6430 or get in touch by email.
