Councils reveal extent of child sexual exploitation cases

Little by little - town by town - the full extent of child sexual exploitation in this country is being laid bare. Tomorrow it will be Oxford’s turn.

It is a hideous crime and ruins lives, and until very recently it is clear that too few professionals knew how to deal with it or prevent it, and in some of the worst cases, even acknowledge it was happening at all.

The victim I met today in Oxford told me she struggles daily with the trauma and has been suicidal.

Her abuse began at 11 and no one she turned to for help in authority seemed to her to care.

She was the last victim the gang chose and if the other victims had been believed, she would never have fallen into their clutches as they would have been taken off the streets long before she met them.

Oxford Social Services and Thames Valley Police insist lessons have been learnt and that they have cleaned up their act.

And figures obtained by ITV News certainly suggest that the problem of child sexual exploitation is a national one.

The figures show that some places have a much higher incidence of cases than others, but ironically it may well be those councils with higher figures where children are safest.

Some councils are clearly looking out for children at risk and dealing with it - others are not.

Tomorrow in the light of the Serious Case Review the Government will announce a range of initiatives to tackle the problem nationally: more accountability for those who fail in their duty to protect children and unlimited fines and a national help line for whistleblowers.

But what’s needed to stamp out this horrendous crime is what was previously absent in Oxford; an awareness that its happening and that it can and MUST be stopped, and a sense of respect for the victims.