They're just brushing it all under the carpet
In the long reckoning with Britain's grooming gang scandals, the government has moved — but not far enough. A new law pardons some convictions held by child sexual exploitation survivors, yet thousands remain marked by criminal records for offences they were coerced into while being abused as children. Baroness Casey, who led the national audit into this exploitation, warns that a partial remedy is its own form of injustice — that to acknowledge some harm while leaving the rest unaddressed is to continue the punishment by other means.
- Survivors who were arrested dozens or even hundreds of times as children — while being raped, trafficked, and controlled — still carry criminal records that close doors to jobs, education, travel, and even volunteering at their own children's schools.
- The government's new legislation pardons only 'child prostitution' offences, leaving untouched the public order charges, assault convictions, and breached court orders that accumulated when girls fought back, broke down, or were physically prevented from appearing in court by their abusers.
- Baroness Casey, author of the national grooming gang audit, has publicly accused the government of choosing 'the lazy option' and declared that it has failed survivors who needed a comprehensive, individualised review of all abuse-linked convictions.
- The Home Office's answer — directing survivors to the Criminal Cases Review Commission — has already proven hollow for at least one survivor, whose application was rejected despite the commission acknowledging her convictions arose from trafficking and coercion.
- Survivors are not only exhausted from decades of systemic punishment; they are now calling for financial compensation and formal validation of the lifelong harm caused by a state that criminalised them while failing to protect them.
A year after Baroness Casey's landmark national audit into grooming gangs, the government has passed legislation to pardon convictions for child prostitution offences. But Casey herself told the BBC the measure represents 'the lazy option' — a partial fix that leaves thousands of survivors still burdened by criminal records for crimes they were forced to commit while being sexually abused as children. She has called for a comprehensive scheme to review and quash all such wrongful convictions. The Home Office has pointed survivors toward the Criminal Cases Review Commission, with limited results.
The law's narrow scope becomes painfully concrete in individual lives. One survivor, groomed from age 15 and exploited by more than 500 men across the country, accumulated over 40 prostitution convictions as a child — those will be pardoned. But she also has soliciting convictions from age 18, when she was still being trafficked, and those fall outside the legislation's scope. Her record has blocked her from employment, college, foreign travel, and volunteering at her children's school. Her application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission was rejected, despite the body acknowledging her convictions were linked to coercion. She describes herself as exhausted, and is calling for compensation.
Another survivor, targeted by a grooming gang while living in a children's home — nine men were convicted in 2019 for raping and trafficking her — was arrested between 30 and 50 times between the ages of 13 and 18. Most of her convictions were for public order offences or assault: moments of emotional collapse after being beaten and raped, or instances of fighting back against physical restraints. Her abusers would remove her electronic tag and discard it; she missed court dates because she was locked in what she calls 'rape houses.' The new law will not touch most of her record. She views the partial pardon as the government attempting to erase evidence of its own failures rather than genuinely addressing them.
A third survivor, abused from age 12 in Oldham, was arrested over 100 times as a child. At 13 she received her first conviction; at 14, a judge sentenced her to four months in a secure juvenile unit. When magistrates published her name in newspapers following an anti-social behaviour conviction, she says it made her a more visible target for her abusers. She, too, is calling for individualised case reviews and full record expungement for all grooming victims.
The legislation applies only to England and Wales. Scotland maintains an ongoing strategy on commercial sexual exploitation, while Northern Ireland is reviewing its own pardons scheme. For the survivors already living with the consequences, the message from the state still feels, in one woman's words, like everything is being brushed under the carpet.
A year after a landmark investigation into grooming gangs, the government has introduced legislation to pardon convictions for child prostitution offences. But survivors and the author of that investigation say the measure is incomplete—a partial fix that leaves thousands still carrying criminal records for crimes they were forced into while being sexually abused.
Baroness Louise Casey, who led the national audit into group-based child sexual exploitation, told the BBC in an exclusive interview that the government had chosen "the lazy option." She called for a comprehensive scheme to review and quash all wrongful convictions of victims, not just those related to prostitution offences. "They have failed," she said bluntly. The Home Office responded by directing affected survivors to the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which can refer convictions to courts if there is a real possibility of successful appeal.
The gap between what the law now covers and what survivors need is stark. Joanne, not her real name, was groomed from age 15 and raped and sexually exploited by more than 500 men across the country over several years. She was arrested repeatedly as a child and convicted at 17 in Wolverhampton for loitering and soliciting. By adulthood, she had accumulated more than 40 prostitution convictions. Those early convictions will be pardoned under the new law. But she also has soliciting convictions from when she was 18 and still being trafficked—and those will remain on her record because the legislation only covers offences committed as a child. The criminal record has blocked her from jobs, college, travel abroad, and even volunteering at her children's school. She wants financial compensation for the damage it has caused.
Fiona Goddard was targeted by a grooming gang while living in a children's home. Nine men were convicted in 2019 for raping and trafficking her in Bradford. Between ages 13 and 18, she was arrested so many times she has lost count—somewhere between 30 and 50 convictions. Many were for public order offences or common assault, stemming from moments when she was emotionally dysregulated after being raped and beaten, or when she fought back against restraints in the care home. Her abusers would cut off her electronic tag and throw it in a bush, causing her to breach court orders. She would miss court dates because she was locked in "rape houses." The new law will not touch most of these convictions. Fiona sees the partial pardon as the government trying "to wipe away the evidence of their mistakes" rather than actually fixing the problem. She wants all survivors to have their cases reviewed individually.
Jamie Leigh Jones was abused from age 12 by a grooming gang in Oldham. She was arrested over 100 times as a child. At 13, she received her first conviction for public order offences. When magistrates named and shamed her in newspapers following a conviction for an anti-social behaviour order, it made her "an even bigger target." At 14, a judge sentenced her to four months in the Red Bank Secure Unit, a now-closed juvenile detention centre that also housed Jon Venables, the killer of toddler James Bulger. She described the experience as horrendous and called for all grooming victims to have their cases assessed individually and their records wiped clean.
Joanne applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission to have her prostitution convictions reviewed but was rejected. Despite the commission acknowledging that her convictions were linked to trafficking and coercion, and that she would be treated as a victim under current law, it ruled the convictions were lawful at the time they were made. She said she is now exhausted from fighting a system that continues to punish her. "They're just brushing it all under the carpet," she said. "They need to compensate us. They need to validate the harm, the systemic harm that it caused us for the rest of our lives." The new law applies only to England and Wales. Scotland has an ongoing strategy to tackle commercial sexual exploitation, while Northern Ireland is reviewing its pardons and disregards scheme with a view to bringing new proposals forward.
Notable Quotes
They have chosen the lazy option and not set up a disregard scheme with enough thought, enough care and enough action.— Baroness Louise Casey
They need to compensate us. They need to validate the harm, the systemic harm that it caused us for the rest of our lives.— Joanne, a grooming survivor
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did the government choose to pardon only prostitution offences and not the other convictions?
It's the narrowest possible fix. Public order offences, common assault, breach of court orders—those don't fit the "child prostitution" label, even though they were all consequences of the abuse. It's administratively simpler, but it leaves most survivors out.
What would a comprehensive scheme actually look like?
Baroness Casey is calling for individual case reviews—looking at whether each conviction was shaped by the person's experience of being sexually abused. That takes time and care. It means examining the whole picture, not just one category of crime.
Why does Joanne's case matter so much here?
Because she shows the gap perfectly. Her convictions as a child will be pardoned. But the ones at 18, while she was still being trafficked, won't be. The law draws an arbitrary line at age 18, but the abuse didn't stop there.
What happens to someone like Fiona when her convictions stay on her record?
She can't move forward. Employment applications ask about convictions. Travel becomes difficult. She carries the label the system gave her—offender—even though she was the victim. The record becomes a second punishment.
Is the Criminal Cases Review Commission a real alternative?
In theory, yes. But Joanne applied and was rejected, even though the commission acknowledged her convictions were linked to trafficking. The CCRC said the convictions were lawful at the time, which technically they were—but that misses the point entirely.
What do survivors actually want?
Three things: their records cleared, individual review of their cases, and financial compensation for the decades of harm. They want the system to acknowledge it failed them, not just quietly pardon part of it.