Crackdown on sexual explotation in Blackburn helps 385 young women

SUPPORT: Julie Wareing of Brook SUPPORT: Julie Wareing of Brook

SOME 385 young women have been offered protection as part of a crackdown on sexual exploitation in Blackburn in less than two years, it has been revealed.

The Engage team, which aims to tackle men who groom young girls for sex, has also secured 63 charges against suspected offenders since its inception in March 2008.

Engage was launched in response to growing evidence of young girls being ‘groomed’ by older men and given drugs, alcohol and gifts in return for sex.

It was given a boost when the Lancashire Telegraph launched its Keep Them Safe campaign in conjunction with the team.

Now Brook, the Blackburn-based sexual health charity, has won a national award for its ‘innovative work’ with young people who have been sexually exploited.

The charity is part of the group approach to Engage, which includes Blackburn with Darwen Council social workers, police officers, the NHS and charities Lifeline, Barnardo’s and the Coalition for the Removal of Pimping.

The Engage team uses its members’ skills and expertise to track down offenders who groom children for sex while offering support and protection to young victims and their families.

Brook, based in Darwen Street, was awarded the Brook Innovation of the Year Award 2010.

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Julie Wareing, chief executive of Brook Blackburn, said: “The Brook vision wants all children and young people to be supported to develop the self-confidence, skills and understanding they need to enjoy and take responsibility for their sexual lives, sexual health and emotional well-being.”

Nick McPartlan, Engage team manager, said: “Our task is to undo what the perpetrator has done, with prosecution being the icing on the cake.”

Entries gave a short presentation at the awards ceremony on Thursday, March 4, at the Emirates stadium, London, home of Arsenal Football Club.

After the presentations, the audience voted to choose the winning innovation, which was announced on the night.

Comments(26)

retired one says...
11:15am Thu 11 Mar 10

It's good to know that these men are being caught and charged with these offences.
Why can't they be named and shamed though, I have never seen anything in the Telegraph saying what the punishment is for these vile offences.

akon says...
11:37am Thu 11 Mar 10

retired one, Blackburn
Ref named & shamed .
It won't happen due the ethnicity of the dirty vile offenders !!

dave bax says...
11:56am Thu 11 Mar 10

To akon - Surely they cant all be white ha ha? If the point you are trying to make be it a bit racist is that most of the culprits are asian then it says a lot about uour british parenting skills! I am disgusted at the way my neighbour buys his own daughter and her friends alcohol as they are not old enough to buy it themselves. If we up our standards then maybe no one can come here and take advantage.

Mike Costa says...
12:20pm Thu 11 Mar 10

Mike Costa says:

Akon, racist? Never! Perish the thought!

akon says...
12:38pm Thu 11 Mar 10

dave bax, blackburn

Have you actually said anything to your neighbour or are you just one of the curtain- twitching brigade ?
Better still report it to the police as they are one of the best forces in the country,must be right cos it's in the LET !! haha

em...acc says...
12:40pm Thu 11 Mar 10

http://www.lancashir
etelegraph.co.uk/new
s/campaigns/821938.G
irl__14__reveals_sex
ual_predators_ordeal
/

Just in case anyone questions Akon!!
Vile dirty filthy creatures need putting down. Dave Bax totally agree about uping the standard as you put it, but, how do you suggest stopping these disgusting animals hanging around the bowling alley's, ice rinks and cinema's just waiting for an opportunist moment?? my 13 year old SOBER daughter has been approached 3 times now ...on a saturday afternoon!!! told the police but it would seem that for some reason they just never seem to be parked in the right spot to be able to make out the number plate....shame when kids can't just be kids anymore and have an afternoon trip to the cinema without being chaperoned for there own safety?? well done to the keep them safe team though.

Ken Shuffles says...
3:21pm Thu 11 Mar 10

Perhaps Men need to be educated about Sex instead of being enslaved and exploited by their attachment to their sexual/emotional/rat
ional desires. Perhaps these men have something missing in their make-up.

ewoodpark says...
4:37pm Thu 11 Mar 10

hi fellas, just to put another slant on why these men do what they do, i have an asian friend and he say it's just a sex thing because the asian men cant have sex with there own due to the fact that the girls need to remain virgins for when they are wed, so they are just using our kids as sex toys, if it was up to me i would shoot any of the vermin that was cought grooming our young girls.

Ken Shuffles says...
5:02pm Thu 11 Mar 10

ewoodBARK.

What man has not used women as a sex toy. ? MEN THINK of SEX as if it is THEIR Toy.. ffs.

Ken Shuffles says...
5:08pm Thu 11 Mar 10

What do you mean........OUR young Girls ? No Girl/Woman is a Mans Property whether they are married to them or not. It's affection Women want not sex with some english/asian dick.

FOR MOST MEN THE PRICE OF AFFECTION IS USUALLY SEX. ask any Woman how affectionate her man is if she isn't giving him any sex.

Ken Shuffles says...
5:09pm Thu 11 Mar 10

I am a REAL Man - so I know about these sort of things.

ewoodpark says...
5:15pm Thu 11 Mar 10

Ken Shuffles wrote:
ewoodBARK. What man has not used women as a sex toy. ? MEN THINK of SEX as if it is THEIR Toy.. ffs.
ken, its EWOODPARK, if you're having trouble with your spelling get help, and another thing i said " there are using our KIDS as sex toys" now if kids are your idea of sex toys then you need shooting.

ewoodpark says...
5:21pm Thu 11 Mar 10

but you lot from DINGLE town like to keep it in the family, how is you Mrs/sister. inbreed

nosimongarner says...
5:24pm Thu 11 Mar 10

Its funny how Muslim men make their women wear veils to protect their modesty, and yet have no compunction sexually abusing non muslim girls. This shows why islam is incompatable with our laws and values.

ewoodpark says...
5:36pm Thu 11 Mar 10

here here, well put!

K!! says...
6:36pm Thu 11 Mar 10

I can't see in the article where it states the race of these offenders. Am I Reading a different article?

ewoodpark says...
6:49pm Thu 11 Mar 10

k!! the media are s*it scared to state the race, because the racist cry will go up, but you dont need it in black and white to know the race of these scum.

excaliber says...
7:50pm Thu 11 Mar 10

Strange. The link in the report doesnt go anywhere. Should it not be this:
http://www.lancashir
etelegraph.co.uk/new
s/campaigns/826902.W
e_launch_campaign_to
_help_vice_trap_chil
dren/

In which it is stated:

"up to 100 girls between 12 and 16 in East Lancashire had been targeted by gangs of older predatory males predominantly Asian in the last year"

Adamski_666 says...
8:21pm Thu 11 Mar 10

the problem with retards such as nosimongarner is that he doesnt know his arse from his elbow,

the abuse is not confined to just your lot, they also do it to asian girls but you wont hear about it as much as the stupidity of some in the community is to sweep it under the carpet and pretend it doesnt happen.

youre just a racist c*** and i bet you are most probably involved in something like this yourself.

now grandad go and do one, make sure you dont freeze to death turd brain

if you dont like it, leave the country and move to Oz where the rest of your family and their criminal mind set are.

Ken Shuffles says...
8:22pm Thu 11 Mar 10

Who was there, or where was the protection for these girls who were predominantly english ?

Ken Shuffles says...
8:27pm Thu 11 Mar 10

EWOODtart.,

The point I was making was that there are Men who think sex is a toy. THEIR toy.

cutthebull says...
9:41pm Thu 11 Mar 10

Keep up the good work Engage, it's a shame there's not more funding available & the court sentences are so poor!

K!! says...
10:00pm Thu 11 Mar 10

Ewoodpark, there is good and bad in every community/race etc. You can't blame every bad thing that happens on one race just because you don't like them. What about the White builders and blokes that drive their work vans around, they on occasions ask for young girls numbers and shout and jeer at girls. Is it ok for them to do it?

Ken Shuffles says...
11:29am Fri 12 Mar 10

What these Girl People are looking for is some emotional warmth, some care, some attention, some respect and some consideration. Not some dick in a van.

retired one says...
11:38am Fri 12 Mar 10

I notice Ken has come out of hibernation. He has been quiet for a while.

Peckish says...
1:26pm Sat 13 Mar 10

The far right highlighted this problem in in bradford, then much later in blackburn many years ago. It was brushed under the carpet by the authorities because the offenders are predominately asian males.

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