Political Analysis and Global Affairs

  Grooming gangs are groups of men who target and exploit young people, typically girls, for sexual purposes. They often use a process of grooming, which involves building a relationship of trust with the victim in order to gain their compliance. This may involve providing gifts, attention, or affection, or making threats or promises. Once the victim is groomed, the gang members may then begin to abuse them sexually. Grooming gangs have been operating in the UK for many years, and there have been a number of high-profile cases in recent years. The most notorious case is probably the Rotherham grooming gang, which was convicted of abusing over 1,400 girls between 1997 and 2013. Grooming gangs can be of any ethnic or religious background, but there have been concerns that some gangs are predominantly made up of men of Pakistani heritage. This has led to accusations of institutional racism in the police and other agencies, who have been accused of failing to take action against these ...