Telford CSE report to be debated in parliament
Local MP Lucy Allan will lead a debate.
The report into Child Sexual Expolitation (CSE) in Telford is going to be debated in parliament today.
The findings, that were released back in July found more than 1,000 children were exploited in Telford over decades, and that authorities ignored the problem.
The MP for Telford Lucy Allan will lead the debate saying the inquiry was 'an opportunity to reflect on the failings and for agencies to take responsibility for their mistakes'.
The report found that authorities failed to act on the information they were given and that "for decades child sexual exploitation thrived in Telford unchecked" with exploitation described as "normal by perpetrators and as inevitable by victims and survivors"
The report follows seven men being jailed for their part in a grooming gang in 2013 - that investigation found a network of abusers, targeting girls as young as 12.
Key findings of the report into Telford child sexual exploitation
- More than a thousand Telford children were exploited over decades.
- Obvious child sexual exploitation was ignored.
- Information was not properly shared between agencies.
- Key agencies dismissed child exploitation as “child prostitution”.
- Key agencies blamed children, not perpetrators, for exploitation.
- Exploitation was not investigated because of nervousness about race.
- Teachers and youth workers were discouraged from reporting child sexual exploitation.
- Offenders were emboldened and exploitation continued for years without concerted response.
- The CSE response came from committed individuals not from top-down directives.