The Jay report included this paragraph:
"The Deputy Children's Commissioner’s report reached a similar conclusion to the Muslim Women's Network research, stating 'one of these myths was that only white girls are victims of sexual exploitation by Asian or Muslim males, as if these men only abuse outside of their own community, driven by hatred and contempt for white females. This belief flies in the face of evidence that shows that those who violate children are most likely to target those who are closest to them and most easily accessible.' The Home Affairs Select Committee quoted witnesses saying that cases of Asian men grooming Asian girls did not come to light because victims 'are often alienated and ostracised by their own families and by the whole community, if they go public with allegations of abuse.' "
I think that final sentence should be of more concern as it lies at the heart of the matter - a view that females, whatever their ethnicity, have no right to control over their bodies and their sexuality and that if they are sexually assaulted it is they who should feel ashamed and treated as worthless. It is a view more prevalent in certain communities but even in white British society there is a very ambivalent attitude towards females. I think it is a view that needs to be addressed very rigorously through our education system.
Deriving from this attitude, most Asian unmarried females only go out when accompanied by an older brother, parent or other older relative. Conversely, in the Rotherham case, the white girls involved were acknowledged to be vulnerable - sometimes in children's homes or foster care, and sometimes experiencing problematic relationships with their parents. It was acknowledged that they were often out late on the streets, drinking and socialising with Asian men. There is evidence in the report that some of the members of the police and other services, when finding these young women drunk in the company of several older men, instead of viewing them as likely victims of sexual exploitation, instead saw them as "making a lifestyle choice" - and as rather a nuisance. My feeling is that once the scale of the abuse came to light and the various police and other officers' actions were seen to have been negligent, it was convenient - and resonated with much of the general public - to cite "political correctness" as being the reason for their lack of intervention.
The point regarding access and availability is the crucial one. There have been several cases of paedophile imams abusing Muslim children. Like priests, they were trusted by families and had the sort of access to children that nobody else would be granted. They certainly had no qualms as to the ethnicity of the children they abused.