The reappearance in the national press of the issue of grooming gangs, following Labour’s controversial decision to block an inquiry into abuses in Oldham, has reignited public outrage over systemic failures to protect vulnerable children. For professionals like me, it highlights a long-standing crisis within the care system—one that has failed to shield the most vulnerable from harm and has, for decades, offered little accountability for those responsible for such dereliction of duty.

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Whistleblower Maggie Oliver has called for a 'totally independent' investigation, condemning both Labour and the Conservatives for years of neglect. Her pointed criticism of Keir Starmer, who served as Director of Public Prosecutions during critical moments of inaction, underscores the urgent need for accountability and justice. Maggie Oliver’s damning words—accusing leaders of failing “repeatedly, knowingly, criminally”—lay bare the growing demand for transparency in tackling these atrocities.

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But systemic failures like these are not new. In the 1990s, Sara Swann, a Barnardo’s project leader in Bradford, uncovered widespread exploitation of girls as young as 12 and 13. Over 600 children were identified by agencies in just one year, highlighting the alarming scale of abuse. Swann condemned outdated laws that treated children as kerb crawlers and pimps as merely "living off immoral earnings," instead calling for purchasers of sex with children to be recognised as sex offenders.

 

Her advocacy led Barnardo’s to campaign for legal reforms, emphasising the need to treat exploited children as victims, not criminals. It was 17 years after the 1998 BBC News report on Swann’s work that the UK government finally amended legislation to remove the term "child prostitute" from official records. Yet despite these early warnings, systemic failures persisted.

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In 2014, the report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Rotherham revealed the horrific truth: between 1997 and 2013, hundreds of children in Rotherham were sexually abused, predominantly by British-Pakistani men. Theresa May cited "institutionalised political correctness" as a contributing factor, but academics warned this was a smokescreen, masking deeper systemic failures. Dave Richards and Martin Smith, writing in 2014, noted parallels with the Jimmy Savile case, where institutions turned a blind eye despite overwhelming evidence. In both Rotherham and Savile’s cases, abuse persisted for decades, shielded by institutional apathy and self-preservation.

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I know this all too well. My collection of fob-off letters stands as proof—empty reassurances from those in power who consistently sidestep responsibility. Scapegoats are routinely sacrificed to divert attention from systemic failures, allowing institutions to deflect scrutiny and evade accountability. This thriving blame culture ensures that while some reputations are carefully preserved, it is often at the expense of others—frontline workers, whistleblowers, or even victims—who are unfairly burdened with blame. This cycle of deflection and blame-shifting avoids addressing the core issues, leaving systemic failures unresolved and injustice to prevail.

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The years since the 2014 blog by Richards and Smith have seen billions spent on inquiries and consultancy services. Public sector consultancy expenditure reached £3.4 billion in 2023-24 alone, a 57% increase in five years. Despite this vast spending, systemic failures remain unaddressed.

 

What if we started by listening to those actually doing the work, rather than relying on endless reviews? Frontline workers, survivors, and advocates know exactly what’s needed: therapeutic care, safe housing for vulnerable children and the adults they become, trauma-aware health care, and strong community-based safeguarding programs. Instead, resources are funneled into processes that create the illusion of action while very little changes on the ground.

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The fact that such failures continue to surface shows that the problem goes far beyond individual cases or lone whistleblowers. It is rooted in a deep cultural reluctance to confront uncomfortable truths, fuelled by institutional inertia, fear of political consequences, and a chronic lack of accountability. Without a drastic cultural shift, this toxic cycle will repeat, leaving victims silenced and justice denied.