News

According to a new report, the level of sexual violence in gang-afflicted neighbourhoods of the UK is comparable to that seen in war zones.
"In some areas the level of sexual violence and the types of violence inflicted are comparable to how sexual violence is used in war-torn territories," said Professor Jenny Pearce of the University of Bedforshire, lead researcher on the sexual violence report for the Office of the Children's Commissioner.

Called ‘It's Wrong But You Get Used To It', the report found that girls as young as 11 are being systematically exploited, groomed, and raped in the worst gang-affected areas of the UK, with the peer-on-peer violence going unreported and ignored.

Sue Berelowitz, the Deputy Children's Commissioner, said rape was widespread and happened "on a daily basis" in the worst-hit areas. "As soon as a girl has had sex, coerced or otherwise, it is completely open season on her. She has abrogated all right to refuse to have sex with someone for all time. They will and do have sex with her any time, any place and anywhere," she said. She added that the "sheer levels of sadism" uncovered by the inquiry had been shocking.

John Pitts, a researcher for the report and an expert on gangs, said he had been shocked by the "normality" of the violence reported. "There was an acceptance or resignation of the brutality of their lives," he said.

"These young people are very difficult to get to, but when we did we found sexual violence appeared to be routine and regarded as unexceptional. For many of them this was the wallpaper of their lives."

Comment

Living here, you sometimes start to think that few things can shock you but then a report like this comes along. We live in technologically modern cities, where things appear neat, pretty and organised on the surface yet a report like this highlights another side of UK society which is not limited to one part of the country. These are some of the shocking problems confronting liberal and secular societies where values of right and wrong keep evolving. Someone on the radio even argued that women having multiple sexual partners is a good thing - as she saw it as a progress for liberal values and free expression.

So what solutions are offered? Matthew Reed, chief executive of the Children's Society, said: "Schools, health and youth services must get better at teaching children about healthy relationships. They need to teach both boys and girls about what consent means, so children can protect themselves from becoming involved in exploitation."

Who is best placed to teach about ‘healthy relationships' between men and women? Where is the mention of the role of families? As the liberal culture promotes all types of relationships, what exactly is a healthy relationship between men and women? And what about stopping the popular culture that sometimes glorifies sexual violence against women in music videos and films - claiming it is harmless fun? What about the glorification of gangster culture?

Unfortunately, when reports like these highlight the type of problem it has, there is a lot of talk about the problem but little about tackling the values that lead to the problem - because some of those values are ‘beyond question' since they are regarded as the latest manifestation of freedom and liberalism.

Like most families, Muslim families living in areas where such problems are prevalent fear for their children, have to make a lot of dua for their protection and do everything to instill the correct way Islam teaches us to value and protect women and engage in relationships between men and women.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Taji Mustafa
Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir in Britain