Exploitation of children in Glasgow mirrors the scandal in England

INVESTIGATION: Police inquiry into sexual exploitation of children in Glasgow mirrors the scandal in England, writes Dani Garavelli

POLICE are investigating the sexual exploitation of vulnerable children in Scotland by men from ethnic minorities in cases that bear striking similarities to the organised abuse of youngsters in Rotherham, Scotland on Sunday can reveal.

Detectives have launched two operations into the abuse of vulnerable teenagers, some of whom absconded from children’s homes, in Glasgow.

"The first, Operation Cotswold, set up in 2011, focused on a group of Middle Eastern asylum seekers in the north of the city. At least 26 potential victims were identified and files were sent to the procurator-fiscal, but no prosecutions were brought."

"It is understood vulnerable young girls were found in the home of one or more suspects, but many identified as at risk did not see themselves as victims and were reluctant to co-operate, making it difficult to gather evidence and get the case to court."

"Now questions are being raised as to whether more could have been done to tackle CSE north of the Border."

"Yesterday, shadow justice secretary Graeme Pearson said he would like to see any questions over CSE cases in Scotland addressed as part of an overarching child sex abuse inquiry. "Because many of the victims [in CSE cases] come from vulnerable backgrounds their voices haven’t been heard with the same power as might be the case in other circumstances," he said."

"As CSE scandals have broken elsewhere, police, child protection agencies and the Scottish Government have made its investigation a priority. Yet until recently little research had been carried out north of the Border...."

"In 2012, the charity Roshni, which campaigns on ethnic minority issues, held a conference on CSE in Glasgow and last year the government launched an inquiry into CSE."

"After taking evidence, the government backed the setting up of a national working group and the development of a national CSE strategy. ..Police Scotland is working on developing a problem profile on CSE which will establish a more detailed understanding of the issue and the scale of the problem."

"Yet Crewe (Barnardo`s) said he believed vulnerable children were still being exposed to unnecessary risk in Scotland because of underlying attitudes about troubled teenagers, particularly those in residential care."

http://www.scotsman.com/news/scotland/top-stories/rotherham-style-child-abuse-in-scotland-probed-1-3526201