Exclusive: Telford survivors say people are ‘exploiting the exploited’ and push for women to shape investigation
The political “tug-of-war with vulnerable women” abused by grooming gangs must stop ahead of a new national inquiry into the crimes, survivors have told the Guardian.
Holly Archer and Scarlett Jones, two survivors who played a key role in a “gold-standard” local inquiry into the crime in Telford, have urged politicians and those without experience of abuse to allow women to shape the investigation.
“We have to put politics aside when it comes to child sexual exploitation, we have to stop this tug-of-war with vulnerable women,” said Archer, author of I Never Gave My Consent: A Schoolgirl’s Life Inside the Telford Sex Ring.
“There are so many voices that need to be heard. There’s some voices, though, that need to step away,” she said. “We can do it, let us do it – we don’t need you to speak on our behalf.”
