UK Home Secretary Braverman faces backlash over 'racist' comments

Suella Braverman's comments regarding the overrepresentation of British Pakistani men in so-called grooming gangs have triggered controversy and drawn criticism from around the world. 

Braverman, who's slowly but surely gaining a reputation of being a loose cannon in the British cabinet, was interviewed by Sky News, in which she asserted that vulnerable white English girls, often in care or difficult circumstances, were being targeted and sexually exploited by gangs of British Pakistani men involved in child abuse rings or networks.

Critics were quick to call out the Tory MP, accusing her of stoking racial tensions and perpetuating harmful stereotypes. 

In addition to highlighting British Pakistani men as a cause for concern regarding grooming gangs, Braverman also criticised authorities for failing to adequately address the issue out of fear of being labeled as "racist" or "bigoted."

Her words were condemned by many including Robina Qureshi, CEO of the refugee charity Positive Action in Housing (PAiH). 

She called upon the Home secretary to apologize for her “gross misrepresentation” of the British Pakistani community and defined her language as “unacceptable.”

Braverman further added that the “systematic and institutional failure to safeguard the welfare of children when it comes to sexual abuse” was one of the biggest scandals in British history.

“We’ve seen institutions and state agencies, whether it’s social workers, teachers, the police, turn a blind eye to these signs of abuse out of political correctness, out of fear of being called racists, out of fear of being called bigoted.”

The Red Collective, a British-based activist group, has condemned Braverman's remarks saying it's an act of “demonizing” the non-whites, especially pakistanis and called for greater accountability and action to address issues of racism and discrimination in British politics.

Controversial comments

"Her statements directly contradict the findings of her own department's research, which revealed that the majority of child sex offenders tend to be white men under the age of 30," stated Charity boss Qureshi. 

During the interview, Sky presenter Sophy Ridge, mentioned a 2020 report from Braverman’s department which stated that grooming gangs were mostly white, and noted that there was no proven link between ethnicity and this type of offending, despite some high-profile cases.

However, the Home Secretary cited the shocking 2014 report on child grooming in Rotherham and the subsequent 2015 report by Louise Casey, both of which were “unflinching in their assessment of the problem” of ethnic grooming gangs.

“There have been several reports since about the predominance of certain ethnic groups and I say, British Pakistani males - who hold cultural values totally at odds with British values, who see women in a demeaned and illegitimate way and who pursue an outdated and frankly heinous approach in terms of the way they behave.”

Qureshi condemned Braverman’s comments saying it was  “grossly offensive” to all the law-abiding British Pakistanis living in the UK, and highlighted that recently elected First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf is of Pakistani descent.

“Yet she displays all the tact of a bull in a china shop,” Qureshi added. “Her comments are tantamount to inciting racist violence, a criminal offence.”

The statement came following the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse's report last year, which characterized child sexual abuse as a widespread and destructive "epidemic" that harms tens of thousands of victims.

According to the seven-year investigation into institutional failings in England and Wales, it was recommended that individuals in positions of trust be legally obligated to report instances of child sexual abuse.

The report discovered that there is currently a significant lack of comprehensive legislation and protocols in England and Wales mandating individuals working with children to report cases of child sexual abuse. 

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