SPECIAL REPORT - Rotherham: One Year On

We've been investigating what's changed in Rotherham over the last year since the Jay Report exposed the town's grooming scandal.

Last August Professor's Jay's findings were published revealing some of the horrific abuse suffered by young girls and boys there and how the authorities failed to protect them.

It lead to a number of resignations including the former council leader Roger Stone and eventually South Yorkshire's Police and Crime Commissioner Shaun Wright.

Hallam's Chief Reporter, Laura Pennington, has spoken to a number of key figures as well as victims, survivors and their families.

Hear our special report here:

Ian Thomas is now the strategic Director for Children's services. He replaced Joyce Thacker who stepped down.

He told us:

"We currently have around 300 people accessing support. The support's there. Some people might not know what support's available and we have a job to do to make sure people know what's there and what's in place. Six months, seven months we've been dealing with inspections. People respond in different ways, some peple will want that support now, others will want it later on.

"We have invested over half a million pounds into support and that's been complimented with £300,000 in the voluntary sector that they've won from the Government. Because of the council going through unprecedented change and having to get to grips with what's needed, that's required a lot of discussion with victims and survivors and building bridges with them."

South Yorkshire Police was also criticised for a lack of prosecutions.

Chief Superintendent Jason Harwin is the district commander for Rotherham.

He said:

"It's not about wanting to get convictions quickly. It's about making sure we get a conviciton which is secure and that the victims have confidence and support during the investigation not just to deal with the trial but ultimately to help them recover, if they can, from what they've been through.

"Operation Clover - which is a live investigation - has now charged eight individuals with over a 109 offences. This is a journey. We've got 155 investigations taking place now in South Yorkshire. In the last 12 months 54 individuals have been charged with offences. It does take time. It's horrific for the victims to have to re-live some of the things that happened in the past. Ultimately we will be victim driven in terms of how long it takes."

The authorities have told us they feel like they are making progress, but that they know there is still a lot more to be done.

Victims and survivors have mixed feelings about whether things have improved though.

Elizabeth - which isn't her real name - was exploited as a teenager.

She doesn't think enough has been done over the last year:

"I think if they carry on how they're carrying on it's going to be the same in 5, 10 years' time. There's no support for any victims or survivors. There's been nothing.

"People don't know what it is. They woke up one morning and it was this big scandal. Nobody really knew what it was. We need agencies which children can build relationships with; not be seen as someone who's being naughty or that they're pushing their luck. They need stability."

But for Jessica - again that's not her real name - people are finally beginning to listen.

She's part of a new steering group which is pushing for change in the town and has already helped bring in tougher rules for taxi drivers.

She told us:

"There's now £3.1million being put into a project and our steering group has been hands on with that and we will be able to shape that. They're listening more now and that's the first thing that needed to be done.

"There's definitely more support out there now. I've had one on one support from Jayne Senior. I've also tried therapy. There needs to be something out there that's for everybody. It's something that doesn't leave you but it's about being strong enough to carry on with your day to day life. It can be done because I'm doing it."

One mum whose daughter was exploited wanted to be known as Sally Jane.

She is also campaigning to improve services in the town:

"I just think they need to start getting things right and listening to other people. You can't ever take away what happened. Nobody can change what happened, but they can start to learn from it to make things better for the future. It is a big relief that people are starting to sit up and listen and act.

"They're actually learning lessons from what happened to our family and my daughter and how we were treated. It makes me feel a lot better because I know no other family's going to go through what we did."

A recurring issue has been a lack of support and that more training's needed for frontline staff including social workers and police officers.

Jayne Senior's the whistleblower who exposed what was going on in the town.

She used to run the Risky Business youth project which worked with victims there but was closed down. It was praised in the Jay Report for the way it supported young people.

She's now in charge of post-abuse support at Swinton Lock:

"We haven't got it perfect. We haven't got it right. But at least we are now on a path in the right direction. We're not going backwards.

"We've still got a high number of survivors needing one to one support as well away from Swinton Lock. They're not ready to come forward. They're not ready to speak to police.

"We don't have enough resources. As quick as you think you've touched the sides - we've had five new referrals this week. One of the things that I have said to senior managers and commissioners is that whatever service is developed should not be based on numbers but on need."

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