Framing the grooming scandal as an ‘Asian’ problem is misogynistic - and a disservice to survivors

18 June 2025, 13:59

Whether it is the so-called ‘Burka ban’, or the return to the so-called ‘Asian’ grooming scandal -  women’s bodies are being used in a proxy war that pretends to defend them, but it is always women who lose.

Casey’s Review is welcome, the grooming scandal is abhorrent, and we know it is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to violence against women and girls in the UK. But, from the outset, this scandal received national attention because it was framed as one defined by race.

The review this week, however, confirms what we already know - that there is no conclusive data on the ethnicity of perpetrators. This corresponds with previous Home Office reviews that confirm that the quality of data on group-based child sexual exploitation is poor, and that the evidence suggests significant limitations on what can be said about links between ethnicity and this form of offending.

Casey argues that questions about ethnicity have been ‘dodged’ and ‘shied away’ from, though this feels at odds with the volume of sensationalised media coverage that has, over the years, persistently reported the issue on terms that have vilified Pakistani, Muslim communities as pathologically deviant and sexually predatory. The current media take-up of the story is unsurprising, claims of ‘cultural incompatibility’, warped ideologies and demands for Muslim leaders to speak out against the grooming gangs have dominated the headlines.

It amplifies an Islamophobic trope that violence, particularly towards women, is an inherent feature of Muslim men - which of course it isn’t. I have experienced a sense of profound disorientation because, as a woman and a mother to a teenage daughter, I am obviously repulsed by the violence committed, but as a Muslim, I am injured by assertions that this violence is a pathological feature of my faith community.

Let’s be clear, the UK has a deep problem with misogyny and violence against women and girls - 1 in 4 women women has been raped or survived a sexual assault, 1 in 20 children, mostly girls, have been sexually abused and sexual violence is increasing.

The rise of figures like Andrew Tate, along with reports from schools nationwide, makes this upward trajectory extremely concerning. We also know that the misogyny that drives this violence sits within our state institutions and services too - social services, and the police, for example - were found derelict in their duty of care towards these survivors, demonstrating deep structural misogyny - treating the children who were victims as ‘promiscuous’ and ‘sexually available’.

This is also apparent in the way that state institutions have treated women of colour when they are the victims of sexual violence. An upcoming Runnymede Trust report shows that migrant women and girls who are the victims of trafficking, slavery, domestic violence and other forms of sexual violence are not treated as victims or survivors, and are instead reported to immigration authorities for sanction. This is symptomatic of the interaction between gendered and racialised violence.

Women of all ethnicities are being systematically failed by the institutions that exist to protect us. Framing this grooming scandal through a racial lens misses the point entirely. And, if we predetermine that it is solely Muslim men who perpetrate sexual violence, it limits our ability to recognise the severity of how deeply this violence is ingrained into UK society. This inquiry should be used to radically assess how we can keep women and girls safe, not a call to punish Muslim men collectively.

The claim that some institutional actors were unable to protect the victims for fear of being called racist, may indeed have been a relevant feature of the decisions that were made, but, given the racist riots of last year, those which have just ceased in Ballymena, I would suggest that at a broader societal level, we have witnessed quite the reverse, with a staggering emboldenment of racism in the UK that feels increasingly dangerous.

There is also an important parallel to draw between this and the recurring ‘burka ban’ story, which, whilst trading on ‘security’ fears, also asserts a ‘concern’ for the rights of Muslim women who might be forced into wearing the ‘repressive item of clothing’. This apparent endeavour to ‘help’ has little credibility when it has repeatedly led to incredible spikes in violence towards Muslim women, whilst assuming that Muslim women can’t make choices for ourselves.

Violence against women and girls is a serious problem; whether it is young girls treated as ‘prostitutes’ or Muslim women described as terrorists; the current conversations vandalise and the terms on which we need to address these issues, and in doing so endanger and undermine the safety of all women against these forms of violence.

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Dr Shabna Begum is CEO of the Runnymede Trust.

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