Child sexual abuse grooming is a ‘massive issue’ for Huddersfield, a law firm has said.
West Yorkshire law firm Makin Dixon, which has offices on Queen Street, says it has been dealing with a marked increase in cases of girls being groomed for sex by older men.
The company has been working to obtain injunctions to prevent perpetrators contacting their victims, some of whom have children to their abusers.
Makin Dixon partner, Jane Campbell, says victims and their relatives have become more willing to report abuse, which also includes ‘honour’ violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation.
But much of it still passes ‘under the radar’.
Ms Campbell, who works at Queen Street, says the company deals with hundreds of cases of ‘honour’ violence each year, together with about 100 cases of forced marriage across West Yorkshire.
And Kirklees and Calderdale are no stranger to such offences, including grooming.
Ms Campbell said: “We work towards getting protective injunctions for victims but it can be complicated. A lot of the victims have children to the perpetrators.
“Grooming is a massive issue for Huddersfield and Halifax.”
Ms Campbell added: “Professionals are really worried about appearing racist but what is unacceptable for a white girl is unacceptable for a black or Asian girl.”
Makin Dixon held a conference at the Cedar Court Hotel at Ainley Top, with experts on forced marriage and other forms of abuse against women.
The event, attended by agencies and public bodies, included training on how to recognise abuse and tackle it.
Speakers at the conference included Polly Harrar, founder of the Sharan Project which supports women who have left home because of disownment, honour violence, rape, forced marriage and other cultural conflicts.
The conference heard from charity Forward UK, which aims to eradicate FGM, and North West chief crown prosecutor Nazir Afzal, who has prosecuted many child sex groomers.
Also speaking were representatives of Intergrate Bristol which successfully petitioned then Schools Minister Michael Gove to educate school pupils about the horrors of female genital mutilation (FGM).
Ms Campbell said: “Over the last 24 we’ve been really alive to the issue; we’ve seen a massive increase in the number of cases which have been brought to us.”
She added: “FGM is a practice that’s been under the radar for years and only since there’s been increased publicity have more people come forward. There are estimated to be 65,000 girls under the age of 13 who are at risk in the UK – but the real numbers can only be higher.”
