http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-20409229
Quote:
Thousands of children are sexually abused by gangs and groups in England each year, according to a report.
The Office of Children's Commissioner study says there were 2,409 victims in the 14 months to October 2011, but the true number is likely to be far higher.
The report also identifies 16,500 children who were at "high risk of sexual exploitation" in 2010-11.
The government said it was committed to tackling child sexual exploitation and would study the report.
The report, titled "I thought I was the only one - the only one in the world", sets out the findings from the first year of a two-year inquiry.
It is the first report to attempt to set out the scale of the sexual exploitation of children and young people and comes in the wake of the jailing in May of nine Asian men for grooming and sexually exploiting white girls as young as 13 in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.
The report draws on evidence from local authorities, police, health services, voluntary agencies and children and young people.
The deputy children's commissioner, Sue Berelowitz, said the evidence indicated that the perpetrators "come from all ethnic groups and so do their victims".
The report noted that unless a perpetrator has actually been arrested, it is difficult to be sure of their ethnicity. However, analysis of the reported ethnicity of more than 1,500 alleged perpetrators showed that about a third were white, the largest ethnic group.
"The reality is that each year thousands of children in England are raped and abused by people seeking to humiliate, violate and control them," said Ms Berelowitz.
"These have included children who have been abducted, trafficked, beaten and threatened after being drawn into a web of sexual violence by promises of love and others who have suffered in silence for years as they are casually and routinely raped by the boys in their neighbourhoods."
Andrew Flanagan, chief executive of the NSPCC, said: "Sex offenders come from all backgrounds but if there is a problem with one community in a particular areas we must be bold enough to address it and not just turn a blind eye.
"In recent months the NSPCC's specialist teams dedicated to helping children targeted for grooming and sexual exploitation have worked with around 70 girls from a range of ethnic backgrounds with the majority aged between 14 and 16, although some were as young as 11."
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Blimey, child abuse is becoming endemic within the UK .....
21-11-2012, 08:05 AM
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'Thousands' of children sexually exploited by gangs
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