STOURBRIDGE MP Margot James has called on the Government to reach out to mosques and Asian communities to tackle the grooming of vulnerable teenage girls for sex.
Speaking in the House of Commons, the Conservative MP asked ministers to give more information about a review opened in January by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP).
Home Secretary, Theresa May, confirmed CEOP would conclude its review in June and said the centre would form part of the new National Crime Agency.
Ms James said: “According to Dr Barnardos the single biggest threat to vulnerable girls over ten is sexual exploitation.
“Of course, this is not confined to the Asian population; however, there have been many cases of young girls being ‘groomed’ by Asian gangs for the purposes of sexual exploitation in the media recently.
“Rather than sweeping this under the carpet to avoid cultural sensitivities we should face up to the challenge of working with Mosques and other members of the community to make this appalling crime culturally unacceptable.”
Later in the debate on the European Directive on combating trafficking, Margot highlighted the numbers of trafficked children in the care of local authorities who disappear.
She called for more guidance and training for local authorities to support and safeguard victims of human trafficking.
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