Rotherham abuse report ‘broke taboo’ about CSE – author

Despite the scale of the abuse, only 36 people have been convicted for grooming and abusing children in Rotherham over the timescale covered by the report.

Asked if she was disappointed by this, Prof Jay said it was “difficult to judge” the exact number of people responsible.

She said: “These were groups of mostly men, but not only men, who organised child sexual exploitation over several years and of course it’s under-reported.

“But it would be very difficult for someone in my position to estimate the number of perpetrators that there were.”

However, Prof Jay said she believed the publication of her report in 2014 did at least “break the taboo in public discourse around child sexual exploitation”.

“At last, the victims were not being blamed,” she said.

But she added: “There is a long way to go in relation to this issue and there’s a great deal society needs to do to face up to this awful crime.”

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