Rotherham Sex Scandal: To Avoid "Racist" Tag Authorities Ignored Accusations Against Asian Gang
Racial tensions are never far off from the headlines, making it hard for authorities to take timely and correct actions. So much so that apparently officials at Rotherham, England, remained quiet about child sexual abuse crimes committed by an "Asian" gang in fear or being labeled as "racist".
A report by Professor Alexis Jay released Tuesday, revealed that as many as 1400 minors - some only 11-years-old - were sexually abused in the northern England city of Rotherham, between 1997 and 2013. The most appalling part of this report was that officials chose to ignore numerous warnings.
White officials have, for a long time, shown reluctance in confronting Black or Asian people for fear of reprisals. This is not an inherent quality, but an acquired one and the reason behind this is a false sense of morality that has originated from the belief that investigating such crimes would not only encourage racism, but also enrage the community activists and leaders leading to unrest in the region, or, worse, make the officials appear racist.
So, the officials - instead of trying to save the children who were being gang raped, drugged, beaten, threatened and terrorised - chose to ignore the crimes allowing rapists, abusers, traffickers and drug dealers to roam freely, The Independent reports.
Professor Jay's persistence in making the report public and standing up for justice and equality finally forced authorities to take notice.
"Having considered the report, I believe it is only right that I, as leader, take responsibility on behalf of the council for the historic failings that are described so clearly in the report, and it is my intention to do so," said Roger Stone, the leader of the Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council since 2003, the New York Times reports.
According to BBC, South Yorkshire Police have said that 29 people have been charged with child sexual exploitation offences in Rotherham till date. But, the police could not say certainly as to how many had been convicted.
