Column: Bimbos, ‘bottom girls’ and the ugly reality of misogyny in our justice system
It’s hard to imagine anything more appalling than what the man at the centre of this story went through. His crime, in a nutshell, was having sex with children.
In short, he was a paedophile, a serial rapist; who had used his position as a teacher and scout leader and the power of the British state, to sexually abuse young adolescents in his care. He was a predator, but the story doesn’t end there.
He became a father and his own children were taken away. Yet, what had been done to them had been left unchecked, because it was deemed “inappropriate/personal” to report the incident to the police. This is a criminal offence, and yet no-one reported him to the police.
We have a serious problem in the UK of people with access to power and influence failing to recognise and report a problem to the police. Paedophiles are given the protection of anonymity, which means that they can continue their activity undisturbed, and because they have no record or name that would link them to their victims, the police are unable to take action.
This is not the first time this has happened. In 2014, the Metropolitan Police recorded 9,817 separate incidents of child abuse; a tenfold increase over just one year. In the UK, child abuse is a significant crime, second only to murder – but sadly child abuse is under-reported.
In a recent report, the Guardian documented the impact that this under-reporting has on the authorities. The Department for Education and the Criminal Justice System were found to be over-reporting child abuse and child abuse victimisation. In 2007, for example, a total of 11,601 children were reported to the CPS; the same year, the Department for Education recorded 1,065 reports to them. A year later, the numbers had climbed back up to 13,082 children and 8,947 adults reported.
It’s time for