Hundreds of victims of grooming gangs who were wrongly convicted are set to have their sentences overturned. The government plans to introduce a law that will invalidate and pardon convictions related to child prostitution, addressing a severe miscarriage of justice. Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips emphasized the system’s failure in protecting young individuals who endured horrendous sexual exploitation.
According to the Home Office, these victims were unfairly convicted while the actual perpetrators, the adult abusers, evaded punishment. As a result, those coerced and frightened individuals were burdened with criminal records for life. Gabrielle Shaw, CEO of the National Association of People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC), stressed that no child should face criminalization for being a victim of abuse. The move to pardon these unjust convictions is expected to provide a sense of validation for those impacted.
Recognizing and believing victims of abuse are pivotal for them to perceive justice being served. Shaw noted that by disregarding and pardoning these convictions, steps are being taken towards a justice system that prioritizes survivor-centered outcomes. The legislative change will lead to the expungement of criminal records for these offenses, affecting potentially hundreds of individuals.
The government’s actions aim to rectify past failures and ensure that victims and survivors of child sexual exploitation receive compassion and support rather than criminal penalties. This initiative, recommended in a report by Baroness Louise Casey, aligns with the government’s commitment to addressing the grooming gang scandal comprehensively through various measures.
The disregard and pardon program targets individuals convicted of on-street prostitution offenses committed while under 18, with the concept of child prostitution being abolished from legislation in 2015. Once implemented, the scheme will automatically apply, relieving victims and survivors from the burden of requesting pardons.
In response to these reforms, the Home Office affirmed that victims of heinous child sexual exploitation should not bear unjust convictions on their records. Additionally, the Ministry of Justice announced stricter measures against strangulation or suffocation depicted in pornography, holding tech companies accountable for detecting and removing such content to combat online violence and abuse. Tech Secretary Liz Kendall emphasized the need to eradicate harmful online material to create a safer digital environment for women and girls.
