During the last few years, England has been shook by scandals regarding sexual abuse of children. A report from the West Midlands Police Department (see map here) now reveals that 488 children in the West Midlands were, or were in immediate danger of, being abused sexually during the first six months of 2014 alone. As with previous scandals in England, the victims of sexual abuse are often placed in children’s homes or other institutions. Once again, this reveals a systematic exploitation of already exposed and vulnerable people in the community. The above fact is frightening in itself, but what is even worse is that the figures are much likely to be understated. The real magnitude of the problem is probably a lot bigger.
Many times, the victims of sexual abuse have been trafficked to bigger cities like London and Manchester, where they were abused by several men. Of the identified victims, 87% were girls and 7 % boys (the rest were not identified). In 26 % of the cases, the perpetrator could be identified and in 92 % of the cases, the perpetrators were men.
The report is brought up as actual proof of the extent of the systematic abuse, and the Police now promise to push forward to reach the perpetrators and protect children that are at risk of being exposed to sexual abuse.
The report is available here!