Recently in the UK we have had a series of dreadful cases where young girls were found to have been groomed by gangs of adult men. Some of the girls were as young as 11. All were vulnerable at one level or other. Several were in care. The men plied the victims with drugs, alcohol and all the rest before subjecting them to sexual acts, sometimes of a highly sadistic or depraved nature. For these children it was indeed a case of childhood lost.
The children were targeted on the streets, typically hanging around near fast food joints. The internet dimension was negligible as far as anyone can tell but the various scenarios which emerged in evidence were highly redolent of trafficking and grooming cases.
Oxford was one of the towns where a paedophile gang was operating. Oxford MP Nicola Blackwood has started a petition to the Prime Minister calling for several key changes in policy. The petition is enormously practical and tightly focused. It makes a limited number of extremely good proposals and while it has garnered impressive institutional support from many of the big guns in child support it needs more virtual signatures so please hurry along to the web site.
Here’s the link
Desiderata 