In an effort to combat the taboo around naming the British Pakistani male gangs responsible for child sexual abuse, UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman outlined her ideas for a new legal obligation for everyone to report such atrocities on Sunday, news agency PTI reported.
In a series of television appearances, the senior Indian-origin Cabinet minister explained to the media that the new obligatory reporting rule for England will target criminals who have cultural attitudes that are incompatible with British principles.
But, due to political correctness and a concern of being branded a racist, they have gone unquestioned in their communities.
Speaking with BBC, Braverman stated: “The perpetrators are groups of men, almost all British Pakistani, who hold cultural attitudes completely incompatible with British values."
“They have been left unchallenged both within their communities and by wider society, despite their activities being an open secret,” she said, adding that there has been a "wilful turning of a blind eye, a failure to act and that silence has enabled this abuse."
She will make it plain in her new policy that everyone who is serving in a safeguarding capacity with children and vulnerable groups, such as teachers and social workers, "can't get away with inaction."
Speaking with Sky News, she said: "What we've seen is a practice whereby vulnerable, white, English girls, sometimes in care, sometimes who are in challenging circumstances, being pursued and raped and drugged and harmed by gangs of British Pakistani, men who've worked in child abuse rings or networks."
"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," she was quoted by PTI in its report.
Many reports on the "predominance" of particular ethnic groupings were cited by the minister. “I say British Pakistani males, who hold cultural values totally at odds with British values," she said.
Children's organisations applaud the initiative, which they think would legally compel individuals to report child abuse. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is anticipated to announce the specifics of the new regulations on Monday.
(With Inputs From Agencies)