21 May 2017

Gripping

Actresses: Ria Zmitrowicz, Molly Windsor and Liv Hill

In the middle of last week I was gripped by the BBC's mini-series: "Three Girls". This was very powerful drama built upon awful real life events in Rochdale, Lancashire. All involved in this series from the actors to the writer, director and production team deserve enormous credit for lifting the curtain on something so dark and terrible.. 

What am I talking about? The sexual exploitation of vulnerable white teenage girls by predatory British Asian men who purport to follow Islam. This was happening in the streets of Rochdale in 2008 and 2009 but it wasn't until 2012 that the main perpetrators were brought to justice.

The girls, and there were many of them, were plied with alcohol and cigarettes as the predators sought to cynically entangle them in an exploitative web of abuse that stretched way beyond Rochdale. The "three girls" in the drama were at the centre of the legal cases that were finally brought to court even though initial complaints had been squashed or ignored by the police and other authorities.

What happened in Rochdale was sickening and cruel but it has happened in other British towns including Oldham, Bradford, Rotherham, Oxford, Telford, Birmingham and Cardiff. Invariably, the paedophile criminals are older men with a Pakistani heritage and always the victims are vulnerable white working class girls. There can be little doubt that the grooming and sexual abuse continues to this day and in the future there will no doubt be yet more extremely tricky cases to unravel.

I cannot begin to imagine what sexual abuse in childhood does to people. The horrible  memories and the emotional scars must be terrible burdens to bear affecting all  future relationships, self-esteem and the very quest for happiness. 

I applaud the BBC for grasping this nettle. Hopefully, "Three Girls" will help in improving awareness of the issues. It goes without saying that the majority of British Asian Muslim men are decent, law-abiding citizens who would not dream of preying upon vulnerable teenage girls. Clearly, they have their part to play in bringing the predators in their communities to justice, demonstrating that there are better ways to live in a country that has given them a new home and the prospect of a better future. Kindness and respect for others and the rule of law are vital in any civilised society.

For fuller details about the Rochdale child sex abuse ring go here.

14 comments:

  1. And it is still happening to this day...and will continue beyond today.

    Only during this past week a story hit the headlines of a young teenage Aussie girl (16 years old) who was lured to the US...to New York...where she was held captive by a pervert.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4520534/Sean-Price-accused-luring-Sydney-schoolgirl-Snapchat.html

    And in the same week, this story hit the news....

    http://www.theherald.com.au/story/4673157/teenager-flown-to-australia-and-kept-as-sexual-slave/?cs=2452

    Sick perverts are everywhere. When caught they should be put out of their misery...and out of ours. They're wastes of space and oxygen.

    Our world is not getting any better...unfortunately.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. When human beings lived in close communities, surrounded by relatives and neighbours, everybody knew everybody else's business and there were strong social controls. Perversion would have been kept in check either by persuasion or force. Now societies are much more fragmented and those old controls have either been relaxed or erased.

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  2. I can see why this would be a gripping series to watch. I remember hearing about this case but had forgotten it.

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    1. I heard the facts in the TV news but this dramatic telling of the story was far more shocking.

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  3. It was a very powerful and moving drama series and full credit to the BBC for showing it. No credit however, to the police, who failed to prosecute any of their own for their failings in this matter.

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    1. For a long time the police and other authorities seem to have pussyfooted around the culpability of British Asians of Muslim heritage...perhaps fearing accusations of racism.

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  4. I dithered over whether to watch it or not and in the end chose not to. I have enough upsetting things going on and didn't think I could face another at present. But reading the reports coming out of the programme I understand how very well done it was - I fear only the tip of the iceberg though.

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    1. I fear that you are right. Some of the wrongdoing may never be untangled. The "three girls" had to be very brave. Two of them were made pregnant by their predators and are now raising these innocent offspring.

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  5. I just couldn't bring myself to make time to watch this. I knew the story, of course, but I've seen too much of 'real life' in real life and I just want to be entertained with happier things at this stage of my life. I notice, however, that all but one (?) of the perpetrators is now out of prison.

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    1. It was a painful subject but as I say I was gripped. To me this was TV drama at its best. I am very aware that the perpetrators all have a Pakistani heritage. It is important to remember that not all British Asians are Muslims and yet Sikhs and Hindus have been on the receiving end of backlashes.

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  6. It's a shame that people can't bear to watch such powerful stuff built on actual facts, in a way they're doing what the police did and turning a blind eye to what happened.

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    1. To tell you the truth Derek, I think such dramas are more difficult for women to watch as they see the cruel victimisation of their own sex unfolding. My wife left the room during the first episode - she just couldn't watch it.

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  7. How funny I should read this post just as we are going to settle down to watch it on catch up. My daughter has gone on about how good it was but we didn't fancy it.
    Briony
    x

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    1. I won't say - Enjoy! That would be exceedingly inappropriate.

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