A legal campaign spearheaded by a police whistleblower and survivors of child sexual abuse aims to hold accountable those who failed to tackle grooming gangs and exploitation.
The #TheyKnew campaign seeks to raise £125,000 to investigate the actions of police forces, local authorities, and individuals across the country. The investigation will determine whether private prosecutions, civil claims, or other legal proceedings can be brought against them for past failures.
Maggie Oliver, a former police detective turned whistleblower, launched the campaign on Monday. She stated that misconduct in public office is one potential offense being considered to hold senior officials accountable who “knowingly failed in their duty to protect children” from gangs or other instances of sexual abuse. The campaign intends to explore all legal avenues to bring justice to those who were failed by the very institutions meant to protect them.
Campaigners believe that by taking action against historical wrongs, it will also help ensure “nothing like this is ever allowed to happen again”.
Ms Oliver told the PA news agency: “I want the message to go out very clearly to senior public servants today, whether that’s chief constables, heads of social services, heads of councils, politicians that if they fail to act or to do their duty to protect children, that they can be held legally accountable in the future.
“That’s the only way that I believe that we will see real, meaningful change.”
Ms Oliver, who resigned from Greater Manchester Police in 2012, said successive governments could not be trusted to bring real change, leaving campaigners to take matters into their own hands.
“I think the country is demanding action be taken,” she said.
The Government has faced pressure to act on grooming gangs and child sex abuse, and has made a series of announcements to tackle the issue since January.
Ms Oliver threatened in January that she would take Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to court unless she made “urgent steps to allay widespread public concern” over gangs sexually exploiting children.
The charity founder described the latest update from ministers on progress to tackle child sex abuse as “empty words” and “more empty promises”.
Recommendations from a major review into child sexual abuse hit the headlines in January after billionaire X owner Elon Musk criticised the Prime Minister and Home Office minister Jess Phillips over the UK’s handling of child grooming scandals.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) led by Professor Alexis Jay found institutional failings and tens of thousands of victims across England and Wales.
The seven-year probe made 20 recommendations in the final report published in 2022, as it described child sexual abuse as an “epidemic” across the two nations.
The Government has vowed to carry out recommendations, including to make it a criminal offence to obstruct someone reporting abuse, and creating a new child protection authority to improve safeguarding.
The Home Secretary has also insisted that local inquiries into grooming gangs in five towns, and possibly more, will be going ahead with a £5 million funding pot after accusations that the plans were being watered down.
A rapid national audit, led by Baroness Casey, looking at the scale of grooming gangs across the country, is also expected to report back after Easter.
But Ms Oliver said that while the new offence on reporting abuse will “go some way” to ensure exploitation in Rochdale, Rotherham, Telford and elsewhere will not be repeated, it will “do nothing to right historical wrongs and hold those who’ve already failed to account”.
Non-profit organisation Action for Accountability, which has launched the bid, will be working with Devonshires Solicitors to investigate claims and will bring proceedings if it finds misconduct.
Samantha Smith, a survivor of abuse in Telford, Shropshire, who is among those leading the campaign, said: “I will never forget how those in power turned a blind eye while I was being groomed and abused.
“I was a child begging for help.”
An inquiry into abuse in Telford reported findings in 2022 that more than a thousand children were sexually exploited over at least 30 years amid “shocking” police and council failings.
Ms Smith added: “We must demand better from those who claim to protect victims of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
“And there must be consequences for inaction.”
A survivor of abuse in Rotherham, Elizabeth Harper – not her real name – is also driving the action to “hold those that failed to account”.
An inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham, which covered the period 1997 to 2013, made a “conservative estimate” that around 1,400 children were sexually exploited over 16 years.
Ms Harper said: “I was also a victim of systemic failings on an industrial scale by those paid to protect us.
“Things will not change until we see accountability.”
Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips told MPs on April 8 that all chief constables in England and Wales re-examined their investigations into gang child sexual exploitation, which resulted in no further action decisions.
She added that from April 1, victims and survivors can ask the Child Sexual Abuse Review Panel to independently review cases that took place after 2013.
The #TheyKnew fundraiser is being launched on CrowdJustice to cover evidence gathering, legal advice, investigators, experts and other associated costs.
Any remaining funds will be returned to donors or donated to charity.