Sexual exploitation: ‘it shouldn’t be normal, but it is’
Ciaran Jenkins
Data Correspondent and Presenter
As Manchester teenagers tell Channel 4 News that sexual exploitation is all too commonplace in their life experience, support workers tell of their anger at the lack of urgency in tackling the issue.
An independent report from the Labour MP for Stockport Ann Coffey was commissioned by Tony Lloyd, the Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner, to see what has changed since the Rochdale case in 2012 when nine Asian men were jailed for grooming girls with alcohol, drugs and gifts before forcing them to have sex with multiple men.
Ms Coffey said: “My observations will make painful reading for those who hoped that Rochdale was an isolated case. This is a real and ongoing problem.
Her view was confirmed by teenagers in Manchester who spoke to Channel 4 News.
Michelle Jesse, 17, said “It shouldn’t be normal, but it is.”
Read more: 'We always hear stories of friends being sexually abused'
Angela Lawrence of Manchester Active Voices, who provides support for young people who are victims of abuse, told Channel 4 News, “We’ve had young girls who’ve come to us, who’ve been invited by other people to go to a party and when they get there, there’s a room full of men and they’re expected to have sex.
“These girls are 14 or 15.”
“It makes me angry at times. It makes me frustrated at the lack of urgency.”
However there has been no commitment from the police to re-open the thousands of cases that did not result in a prosecution.