Iram Ramzan interviewed Nazir Afzal for the Oldham Chronicle a few days ago.
Mr Afzal hopes Stockport MP Ann Coffey’s report into child abuse in Greater Manchester won’t deter victims from coming forward. But he doesn’t think the report does enough to highlight the achievements of his service.
Ms Coffey’s report suggested that the perceived attitudes of jurors caused the CPS to fail to charge suspects. She reported that in some cases the CPS highlighted the victim’s clothing, or that members of her own family had been derogatory about her behaviour, and that these facts had persuaded the CPS not to prosecute.
In the last six years 12,879 sexual offences against children were reported to GMP, but only 2,341 defendants were charged and 1,078 found guilty.
One of Mr Afzal’s first acts on becoming a chief crown prosecutor was to start prosecutions against the Rochdale grooming gang, overturning an earlier CPS decision.
He says the CPS record has improved a lot over the last three years.
“We’re in a better place. One of the things the report didn’t highlight was the conviction rate is the highest ever. I wouldn’t want anything to deter victims from coming forward.”
North-West figures show that in 2013-14, 194 of 288 child abuse cases were successfully prosecuted.
That’s a massive improvement.
Mr Afzal stresses the majority of sexual abuse occurs within the home – and by white perpetrators. The second largest incidence is online, the third is institutions — such as in schools — and finally comes street grooming: “It’s a sizeable but small group,” he added.
The judge sentencing the Rochdale gang told the defendants they preyed on girls because they weren’t part of their community or religion. But as Mr Afzal pointed out, Oldham defendant Shabir Ahmed was also convicted of the rape of a Pakistani girl.
Mr Afzal suggested the grooming gang preyed on vulnerability: “The perpetrators weren’t religious, they were men controlling women and girls. We need to stop getting distracted by ethnicity and focus on what this is — women and girls being abused, feeling they can’t talk about their experiences.”
And that’s far from being a monopoly of the religious.
“You don’t provoke rape by your dress, or the choices you make. You don’t provoke rape because you’re drinking. In no way is that an excuse for what that man does. The perpetrators are doing it because they want control. As a prosecutor I will make them face the consequences.”
He does believe women of south Asian and other minority backgrounds find it more difficult to speak out due to issues of honour and shame: “Asian victims don’t come forward — it doesn’t mean they don’t exist. We have to reach out to them.”
Mr Afzal said he has received strong support from Pakistani people since the Rochdale case.
The only offensive comments have been from the far right. “I damage their narrative,” he added.
As do women like Iram Ramzan and Tehmina Kazi. Damage that narrative! Damage it and then bury it.
It looks like Mr. Afzal is trying to do his job.
This article is all about after-the-fact.
Nowhere does it attempt to explain how these abuses were allowed to go on for many years. Why were the authorities so hamstrung? What prevented them from taking action when knowledge of what was happening was widespread?
And telling me that so-and-so also raped a Pakistani girl changes nothing with regards to this scandalous inaction. Why were the social workers and all the others with the responsibility to protect these girls so paralyzed? What did they fear, exactly? What forms of pressure and intimidation were used to silence everyone?
A damaged Far Right narrative does little to help some 1,400 permanently damaged under aged girls.
I’m interested in knowing the truth even if that truth damages some popularly held NON Far Right narratives.
Oh, Decker the right-wing troll is back! As willfully ignorant as ever!
It’s already been explained to you that the inaction of the authorities was due to multiple factors : Understaffed and underfunded social services, lack of cooperation from witnesses as well as some victims, and, last but not least the utter misogynistic and classist contempt for the victims. Shit like this has happened in other communities all over the world, some multicultural, some monocultural, some even as white as Johnny Winter riding a gray while wearing a wedding dress.
Your “brown-menz-despoiling-our-fair-maidens” crap doesn’t hold water.
Umm.
‘The perpetrators weren’t religious, they were men controlling women and girls. ‘
It’s just a coincidence that they were ALL members of a religion that is hysterically committed to controlling women and girls.
‘…women of south Asian and other minority backgrounds find it more difficult to speak out due to issues of honour and shame:.
So, move on. NOTHING to do with religion here. Pay no attention to the prophet behind the curtain.
Understaffed and underfunded social services, lack of cooperation from witnesses as well as some victims, and, last but not least the utter misogynistic and classist contempt for the victims.
Those aren’t reasons, they’re facile excuses cited to distract from the facts.
Shit like this has happened in other communities all over the world
This story isn’t about “shit”. It’s about the industrial scale rape of under aged girls by mostly Pakistani males that occurred over many years without the authorities doing ANYTHING.
And the fact it happens “all over the world” in no way lessens the gravity of it all. Since rape occurs in all cultures it is therefore no longer a heinous crime?? Oh ! Fiddle-Dee-Dee! Everyone does it, ya know!
If thousands of children can be serial raped by tens of thousands of males without social services lifting a finger, then why the fuck have social services at all?
Here’s the misogynistic kicker:
Your “brown-menz-despoiling-our-fair-maidens” crap doesn’t hold water.
A 12 year old girl doused with gasoline and threatened with being burned alive is not, I repeat, IS NOT a “Fair Maiden” you insensitive sot
She’s a vulnerable, defenseless, sobbing child scared out of her wits!
Sorry, but it is YOUR crap that doesn’t hold water.
No, the fairy tale that the cops feared being judged as racists is the excuse.
The industrial scale rape of girls happening all over the world IS “shit” as in “disgusting, revolting, horrible”.
I fail to see how my pointing out the fact that it happens all over the globe is diminishing the gravity of the crime.Quite the opposite, in my opinion.
And I wasn’t mocking the victims of these scumbags, I was mocking you for instrumentalizing their suffering for your racist agenda.And dismissing their suffering completely if they aren’t white, since you “don’t care if so-and-so raped a Pakistani girl”.
See, deliberately misreading can go both ways.Now flounce off.
It’s just a coincidence that they were ALL members of a religion that is hysterically committed to controlling women and girls.
Well, if saying otherwise threatens ‘The Narrative’, then “coincidence” it is!
So, move on. NOTHING to do with religion here. Pay no attention to the prophet behind the curtain.
So they tell us.
And I wasn’t mocking the victims of these scumbags,
Oh yes you were didums. Referring to 12 year olds being doused with gasoline and threatened with being burned to death as “Fair Maidens” is a gross, obscene and sexist mis-characterization of these children. A 12 year old girl getting gang-raped by 30 and 40 year old males is NOT some damsel en détresse. We’re neither in La Vallée du Loire, the 12th century, nor The Chateau Chantilly here. We’re in grimy, 21st century, post-industrial England.
Not a vineyard or wimple in sight
I fail to see how my pointing out the fact that it happens all over the globe is diminishing the gravity of the crime.Quite the opposite, in my opinion. You’re attempting to distract from the gravity of this crime by claiming that it is simply one of many. You’re saying that it’s ubiquitous and therefore BANAL, you sleazy sexist you.
Shame on you!
I see you are insisting on misreading me because I don’t share your racist prejudice.
Nothing I can do about that.
Gee, it’s almost as if Decker sees some sort of problem with the “Damsel-in-Distress” narrative. One can only wonder why.
“Sexist!” He cried, not understanding what it meant. In his mind it was simply another synonym for “bad” or “awful”.
Rape and sexual abuse are ubiquitous. They are often banal, that is, trite, unoriginal, and sometimes boring.
Do you suppose that when Arendt coined the phrase, “the banality of evil,” she meant that evil was somehow not evil, or that it wasn’t worth opposing, or that evil is no big deal?
Pro-tip for Decker: I’m not talking to you. I’m talking about you.