British Pakistanis battle stigma amid ‘grooming gangs’ scandal

LONDON: In the last few years, the issue of ‘grooming gangs’ has dominated headlines in the United Kingdom, with reports on these groups surfacing every few months. However, these stories have reinforced a perception that has become increasingly problematic for the British-Pakistani community.

Due to past incidents, the Pakistani community living in the UK faces a specific narrative linking them to grooming gangs, where British citizens of Pakistani descent are portrayed as the sole perpetrators of the issue.

Grooming gangs refer to groups involved in crimes where young girls are being groomed by gangs of men, using deception, coercion, and emotional manipulation before raping them.

British citizens of Pakistani origin say that this allegation casts suspicion over the entire community. However, a closer look at the issue reveals a different reality.

Data and research show that the problem of grooming gangs is not exclusive to British citizens of Pakistani descent. In fact, 2023 statistics indicated that 83 per cent of offenders in child rape gang cases were white.

What do the latest statistics reveal?

Data released by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) shows that in 2023, 83 per cent of all suspected offenders operating in groups for rape were white.

It is important to note that this data is limited, as only 34 per cent of offenders recorded their ethnic information in 2023.

The NPCC report said that ‘the introduction of the COCAD dataset in January 2023 has, for the first time, helped us understand the nature and scale of group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse. The findings also point to previously unknown risks, highlighting the need for further research to determine how to tackle them effectively.’

“Although a very small number of group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse crimes are reported to the police, there is no doubt that given the harm caused to victims and survivors by the nature of these crimes, they deserve special attention.”

The report further emphasised that “pursuing offenders will always remain a police priority. Bringing offenders to justice is crucial. It is also essential for the public to understand the facts about group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse and recognize that this occurs in many places and across many communities.”

Also read: ‘Life’s ruined’: UK town broken by grooming gangs wants answers

Despite the data, many argue that a false perception about the Pakistani community has been established, which continues to fuel prejudiced attitudes.

‘The issue is not about any single race’

Both data and experts agree that this is not a race-based issue. Linking the grooming gang problem to race is not only misleading but also dangerous, as it fuels discriminatory attitudes and allows some groups and organizations to exploit it for harmful agendas.

Imtiaz Ahmed, a commercial property businessman from Rochdale, UK, spoke to the BBC about the renewed discussion on this scandal and its difficulties for the Pakistani community.

Born and raised in the UK, Ahmed believes there is an agenda behind the defamation of Pakistanis on social media following Elon Musk’s tweets.

‘This time, Pakistanis are being scapegoated without reason. It’s all part of political objectives,’ he said.

“This defamation is massive. There was already shame 15 years ago, but now the issue has been resurrected and amplified on a large scale. This is a social problem. They look at our Pakistani community as if we are all sexual offenders.”

Ahmed stressed the need for the community to defend itself to remove this stigma.

“Because of past cases, we still feel ashamed today. We work very hard. We have the highest number of doctors and nurses here. Part of the blame lies with us because instead of defending ourselves, we sit in shame at home. People think if we don’t defend ourselves, we must be guilty. Recent reports have proven that this is not a Muslim or Pakistani issue, but a broader social problem.”

Ahmed pointed out that the defamation of the Pakistani community through grooming cases has both immediate and long-term effects.

“On the surface, we face verbal abuse. Even when not directly insulted, we now have to convince our customers of our integrity and work harder to maintain our businesses.”

For Muhammad Nadeem Altaf, a Pakistani-origin resident in the UK, this stigma has also created challenges.

“When the grooming issue first arose, it was shocking for all of us. Our families were deeply affected. British friends began to distance themselves from us,” he said.

Highlighting the new wave of anxiety, he said, “Now that this issue has resurfaced, our grown-up children see this and wonder why we are being blamed. When I drive, people sometimes make comments on the road. It definitely has an impact.”

Altaf called for an end to this targeting.

“Our politicians and educated people need to speak up and make it clear that this is not who we are. Don’t target all of us because of the actions of a few. Every few years, this issue comes back, and we are shamed again. The police, council, and relevant institutions need to address and resolve this issue.”

He also expressed frustration over the entire Pakistani community being blamed for the actions of a few.

“People started looking at us with suspicion, and it took years to normalize things. Now, there’s fear that attitudes might change again.”

He said that bad people can exist in any community, so no single race should be vilified. “This should be treated as a social issue and resolved accordingly.”

Ghulam Ahmed, a representative of a local welfare society and a taxi driver in the UK, said, “Any individual from any community who commits a crime is condemnable. These incidents can worsen attitudes and conditions for our children. No community should be targeted.”

He recalled trying to dispel stereotypes on a personal level.

“Once, a customer tried to link grooming to Pakistani culture. I explained that those involved grew up here, and Pakistani culture is very different from this.”

However, the effects of this scandal are not likely to fade soon.

“Now, when people book a taxi, they sometimes request not to have an Asian driver,” Ghulam Ahmed said.

In 2025, following Elon Musk’s tweets about grooming gangs, the BBC visited towns and cities where this issue has persisted for several years to understand how the Pakistani community in the UK is once again being affected.

When did the grooming gangs issue start?

The issue gained prominence following three infamous grooming gang cases in Rochdale, Rotherham, and Telford.

A government review revealed that young girls in Rochdale were left at the mercy of grooming gangs engaged in child sexual exploitation for an extended period because senior police officers failed to investigate adequately.

Earlier, in 2012, Liverpool’s Crown Court sentenced a group of nine men from Rochdale to four to 19 years in prison for sexually abusing underage girls.

The group was accused of grooming young girls by providing them with alcohol and drugs and then sexually exploiting them. They also allegedly passed the girls on to other men as gifts.

In one of the subsequent cases, five men associated with a Rochdale grooming gang were sentenced in 2023 for the ‘heinous exploitation’ of two teenage girls. Four of the convicted individuals were of Pakistani origin.

The girls were reportedly plied with alcohol, cannabis, and ecstasy pills before being subjected to sexual violence. They were raped in cars, public parks, and homes and flats across Rochdale.

However, in early 2023, UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman repeatedly claimed that the majority of grooming gangs exploiting young white girls in the country consisted of British men of Pakistani origin.

In response, dozens of Muslim organizations in the UK wrote to former prime minister Rishi Sunak, stating that the Home Secretary’s remarks were ‘racist and divisive.’

Later in 2023, Rishi Sunak said that victims of grooming gangs had been overlooked for political reasons.

The UK government promised to collect more data on grooming gangs to ensure that suspects could not ‘hide behind cultural or racial sensitivities’ to escape justice.