Why is collecting ethnicity data on all child sexual abuse cases in the UK made mandatory?

(When this news was published in the newspaper on 17th June, it reminded me of Suella Braverman's statements, who was the Home Secretary then. She spoke a couple of years ago. Of course, she was criticised vehemently, but now the PM of the UK presented all the details of the inquiry in the parliament and has decided to take all the necessary actions, including changing the law to ensure justice.)

It is reported that recording the ethnicity and nationality of all suspects in child sexual abuse and exploitation cases will be mandatory. The PM of the UK made an announcement in the parliament on the 16th of June 2025. It had a reference to the report submitted by Baroness Casey.

This action was probably due some years ago.


When Suella Braverman was the Home Secretary, she wrote an article and talked about the grooming gangs scandal. She is a British politician, a conservative party member. Worked as the Attorney General for England and Wales twice. She served as Home Secretary twice. The first tenure was very small, it lasted for 50 days, and later for a period of a little more than a year. ) She stated the fact that 'organised gangs of older men carried systematic rape, abuse and exploitation of young girls.' She described the act as 'a stain on our country '. Stated that the ' group of men, almost all of them are from British-Pakistani heritage, who hold cultural attitudes completely incompatible with British values '. They predominated among the perpetrators, she said.

She further observed that they have been left mostly unchallenged both within their community and by wider society, despite their activities being an open secret. Many of them have gone unpunished.

She stated that' truth cannot be Racist ', but it made authorities reluctant to confront the issue. It was a wilful turning of a blind eye by the authorities. ' Vulnerable white girls living into troubled circumstances have been raped, drugged, abused and exploited by grooming gangs overwhelmingly by British - Pakistani males ', she said. Described the facts as unfashionable, reiterated her opinion and observation several times.
She feels the victims deserve justice now; it cannot be evaded.

She faced bitter criticism and political attacks. She was urged to withdraw her statements, too. Till today, she has not changed her stance; on the contrary, she feels it is vindicated when the UK PM took the decision on the 16th of this month.

The then PM of the UK in 2020 outlined the plans for specialist officers to help forces tackle grooming gangs. Stated that the victims had often been ignored because of cultural sensitivity and political correctness.

If one glances at the history, from early 1990, the abuse was noted, and the care home managers investigated the report that children in their care were picked up by taxi drivers. From 2001, multiple reports appeared, the names were passed.

Between 2000 and 2006, 7 men were found guilty of committing the horrendous crime in Rochdale. (Rotherham and Telford are the other 2 places repeatedly referred to)

In 2010 first time, 5 British Pakistani men were convicted for the crime. The girls raped were between the age of 12 and 16.
In January 2011, The Times covered this issue and discovered that this fact was known to local authorities for more than 10 years.
In 2012 trial was conducted of the Rochdale child sex abuse ring. The House of Commons Home Affairs Committee conducted a hearing and published recommendations.

Alexis Jay led an independent inquiry, which is known as the Jay Report. It noted that the girls were taken by taxi, they were abused and raped. Even trafficked to other towns too.

British ( mainly ) and British Asian girls were targeted, but the failure to address the issue is noted.


It has been observed that the girls belonged to troubled or disturbed families, which made them vulnerable. The details describing the modus operandi of the perpetrators and what the girls had to undergo are very disturbing.
Many victims gave evidence and appeared before the commission of inquiry.

Mostly the perpatrators are adults or grown up men, the girls were under age always. The chilling details given by the victims are unsettling. A girl stated that the perpatrators were allowed to do whatever they want with the girls. It obviously had a huge impact on their life. Most of them are trying to rebuild their life. ( names not mentioned here because the plight of the girls is more important ) The abuse was almost daily and multiple men raped them. Many young girls were preyed upon, trafficed and raped. A victim stated by the time she was 26 she was raped by more than 150 men.

Girls were used as sex slaves,they were taken to filthy places, alleyways and even to warehouses also and raped.
Later, some girls wanted to continue their education to start life again. A woman stated that attending a parent-teacher association meeting causes a lot of distress. Facing the society is not easy.

Some victims were as young as 10 years when raped.

The disturbed or troubled background was the reason they could easily fall prey to the older men. Flattery and profusely complementing them was the way to win their trust. An emotional connection was established to lower the inhibition with the objective of sex abuse. This pattern was followed specially if the victim is underage. They were flooded with attention by older men.

Adults building relationships turning into the abuse was the common feature. Social media, text messages, Aps were used to allure them. It is mentioned that these were organised networks.

Alcohol and drugs were used to deceive them into sex with one or many. They were often raped violently by even unknown men. Girls were abducted, beaten, intimidated and even threatened with life too. Physical force was also used at times. The model of boyfriend or lover was used to make the victims feel that they are cared by them. Offenders often joined youth-serving organisations to get access to victims, it is observed.

Some victims were murdered. Refusing or resisting used to make the treatment more difficult.

These men ( grooming gangs ) were usually found to be taxi drivers, often running takeaways, market traders,or illegal drug traders,mostly a part of night time economy. They could get access to children who were out late.
Of course the failure of police and social workers is certainly observed. These teens were regarded as children with a risky lifestyle. Were labelled as children involved in drugs and chose to go with bad boys. Their position was such which lacked credibility and were from deprived background too.

Many times, people were seen to have prioritised their personal and institutional reputations above welfare. It is claimed that police officers, social workers ,councillors knew about Paedophillia,but turned blind eye for the fear of being called Racist. They have to break through inertia and the fear that prevails in many organisations. The
Victims were blamed instead. They were treated as if they were unworthy of protection. Victims were treated with contempt,and on the contrary arrested for being drunk, dismissed as child prostitutes, even witnesses were not protected enough. There was no support, nor was there a sufficient counselling facility.

The recognisable signs observed in behaviour or mental health were not paid attention to,or not reported.
This this can be described as deep rooted institutional failure to protect children. Victims would have to carry the scars through out the life.
But children are to be treated as children first.