The BBC has changed the names of the women in this article in order to protect their identity.
Three women who were left devastated by historical child sexual exploitation in Oldham have told the BBC ministers should have spoken to survivors before deciding not to conduct a government-led inquiry into grooming gangs in the town.
Jane and Amelia, who survived abuse more than 15 years ago, and Sarah, whose son was exploited in the town while he was in care, called on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to meet them and hear their stories.
Ministers rejected Oldham Council’s request to conduct an inquiry, saying the council should lead it.
A government spokesperson said it would “always be guided” by survivors and that Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips would continue to engage with victims.
But they added “many victims have said they do not want to see another national inquiry – they want action now”.
Jane and Amelia said they would like to see a full national inquiry, because they feel it is important to cover the experiences of survivors across the country.
Sarah, whose son was abused in his teens and died more than 10 years later, would have liked a government-led inquiry into abuse in Oldham, but would accept a local one if it is properly funded.
“This isn’t for anyone’s political gain. This is about real human beings,” Amelia said.
The government has resisted calls from the Conservatives and Reform for a new national inquiry, saying that implementing recommendations from a 2022 report conducted by Prof Alexis Jay into child sexual abuse is its priority.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said a new national inquiry would help focus on grooming gangs, where the Jay report did not.
Billionaire Elon Musk has criticised the UK government over its response to grooming gangs on his social media platform X.
Amelia said that, even though she did not agree with many of Musk’s beliefs, she was “glad” he had highlighted the issue.
Last weekend, Phillips and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed the council had started its own inquiry.
The Greater Manchester authority also undertook an independent review into sex abuse in Oldham in 2022, and found victims had been failed by the council and Greater Manchester Police.
Ministers have suggested they are keeping an open mind about a future national investigation if it becomes clear that survivors want one.
Jane was 12 when she moved to Oldham. She made friends with a girl older than her who introduced her to a man in his late forties.
“He started coming round, buying me phones, telling me not tell my parents,” she said, “then he started introducing me to his friends.”
Now more than a decade later, Jane struggles to recall in detail the number of men involved – but says for six years she was abused by a British-Pakistani grooming gang.
“There was one specific incident when I was plied with alcohol, plied with drugs, and I could not move. There were a group of men coming in and out of the room, I think there must have been four or five, basically raping me.”
Jane told her mum, the police, the council and her social worker about what was going on.
“At one point, when the police had turned up, there was an illegal immigrant with me and they came and arrested me for prostitution,” she said.
Jane left Oldham several years later.
“After a certain amount of time you lose respect for yourself and it becomes a normality,” Jane said, fighting back tears.
“When you are a child, you don’t really understand, but when you get older and you look back, I felt like it was me against the world.”
As far as Jane knows, none of the men who abused her have been jailed.
Amelia was still at school when she was trafficked across the country for sex with multiple men a night.
The people who took her were white British, but she said those who abused her were from every background, race and class.
“There isn’t just one narrative – the Pakistani grooming gangs,” she said. “It is not anything to do with nationality or race.”
Her experience was not reflected in Oldham’s 2022 review on grooming. She strongly feels more work needs to be done to increase awareness of the sexual exploitation of minors.
Amelia described the impact grooming has had on her life. Her children have been taken into care, she has struggled to maintain relationships and has been in and out of psychiatric support.
“I don’t even class myself as a human being anymore,” she said. “I’m damaged goods, I’m broken.”
She has also echoed Jane and Sarah’s desire to meet the government on this issue.
“I’d love the opportunity to speak to those senior people who are making decisions on our lives, to meet or speak to them personally,” she said.
Sarah’s 13-year-old son reported being sexually abused while he was a looked-after child in Oldham in the 2000s.
“He’d gone locally into a business where it was easy to buy cigarettes and alcohol and that is where the grooming started,” she said.
Her son was told he had to pay for the items by doing what the British-Pakistani owner wanted. She added the care home knew about the arrangement but did not question it.
“It totally destroyed him,” she said. “He just wasn’t the child he was to start with. He was a shadow of his former self.”
In 2021, Sarah says he was going through the process of reporting the abuse to police but had a cardiac arrest and died.
“I feel like I let him down in his life and I don’t think it’s right I don’t get justice for him just because he’s not here,” she said. “He is just as important as every other victim.”
Councillor Arooj Shah, leader of Oldham Council, said the new local independent inquiry will build on the findings of the Greater Manchester review.
“We’re working closely with survivors and survivors’ families to ensure they don’t just have a voice, but will have a central role in developing this inquiry. We expect terms of reference to be agreed in the coming months,” Shah said.
Greater Manchester Police Assistant Chief Constable Steph Parker said “we absolutely recognise the lifelong impact of child sexual exploitation, which is why we are so committed to protecting victims and pursuing offenders. This is a tragic example that demonstrates the devastating trauma that comes with such horrific abuse.”
Parker said child protection “is the priority” for the force today, with several ongoing.
“We have several ongoing victim-focused, non-recent CSE investigations being led by specialist investigators, which have led to over 100 arrests. Time is no barrier to action.”
- If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article, help and support is available via BBC Action Line.
