Dr Ella Cockbain
@DrEllaC
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Associate Professor @UCLCrimeScience . UCL Research group lead on human trafficking, smuggling & exploitation. On Bluesky as @DrEllaC too
Joined December 2008
Proud to stand with so many amazing people and organisations to call for child sexual abuse policy to be inclusive, victim-centred and evidence-based. Huge thanks to co-organisers @helenlbeckett @CamilleLW , all who signed & supported & @peterwalker99
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I just put in an @Ofcom complaint about the GB news programme “Grooming Gangs: Britain’s Shame”. It clearly breaches the Ofcom code on due accuracy and due impartiality. It promotes racist tropes, is harmful to abuse victims & survivors and is likely to fuel yet more hate. 1/2
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There’s such a raging disconnect between what people think university working conditions are like, and what they really are. We’re not striking because we’re greedy or don’t care about students, it’s because we desperately want better for a broken sector. #ucuRISING.
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Was legit nervous about taking two little kids to such a big protest on my own. I’m glad we went. Loads of other kids & kindness there & an incredible turn out to say #NotInMyName #CeasefireNOW
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Need a Twitter break. This stuff is so toxic. I’m not going to be threatened and bullied into silence though. 1/
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Good news 💥: the Quilliam Foundation has officially shut down. Shame these quacks never had the integrity to retract their abysmal “grooming gangs report”.
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I wrote this last year but sadly it’s very relevant today due to Braverman’s false claims. It’s about misinformation, hidden agendas & politically convenient stereotyping around “grooming gangs”. For @The_NewArab
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New for @guardianopinion : I wrote about Braverman & Sunak’s announcements around “grooming gangs”. It’s incredibly dangerous and a huge distraction from cross-cutting issues that need addressing.
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Had some lovely news today: after less than a week, this article is already their all-time most read. Looks like lots of people care about misinformation around child sexual abuse.
When bad evidence is worse than no evidence: Quilliam’s “grooming gangs” report and its legacy.by @DrEllaC
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❗️New article looking at how the ‘Muslim grooming gangs’ narrative evolved & became entrenched over past decade, its beneficiaries & its harms. Free access at . Great working with @_WaqasTufail on this for @Race_Class
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THREAD (PART 1 of 4): Why you shouldn’t trust @QuilliamOrg ‘s report on #groominggangs & the claim that 84% of “grooming gang offenders” are Asian. An evidence-based critique. 1/.
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Today marks ten years since Andrew Norfolk @thetimes propelled the inaccurate, racial stereotype of “Asian sex gangs” into the mainstream. It’s shaped the past decade & caused numerous harms. It’s also been debunked both in academic research & the government’s own research. 1/3.
❗️New article looking at how the ‘Muslim grooming gangs’ narrative evolved & became entrenched over past decade, its beneficiaries & its harms. Free access at . Great working with @_WaqasTufail on this for @Race_Class
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Tell me again that this is about caring about violence against women and girls? 2/
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Junk science on #groominggangs does nothing to help tackle abuse. Instead, it harms sexually abused children & already marginalised groups. My new piece for @PolicingInsight - please share.
When bad evidence is worse than no evidence: Quilliam’s “grooming gangs” report and its legacy.by @DrEllaC
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We wrote this for @guardian . @_WaqasTufail & I ask if this could finally be a turning point in how the UK responds to child sexual exploitation
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Hugely worrying that @QuilliamOrg has been commissioned by @CommissionCE . Why is public money being used to fund an organisation with a proven track record of intellectual dishonesty & woefully poor research standards?.
We’ve commissioned 28 leading academics and experts to write 19 research papers to inform our major study on #extremism. Topics incl the Far Right, Islamism, the Far Left and online extremism. Full list at
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When the Government spins the focus to offenders’ ethnicity yet again - in spite of their own evidence - it detracts from systemic failings and woefully overstretched services. I wrote this for @BylineTimes on the new child sexual abuse strategy
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Every woman I know has been sexually harassed from teens onwards. Flashing, groping, lewd comments, intimidation, being followed home. I’ve had to push people off me a few times. Once I ended up in hospital after being knocked out on the pavement for daring to defend myself. 1/.
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Time to pin the lot. Please share.Why you shouldn't trust @QuilliamOrg 's "research" on #groominggangs & claim that 84% of "grooming gang offenders" are Asian.Given the smears, untruths & deflections in response to valid criticism, I don't see how we can trust @QuilliamOrg at all
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Quilliam’s “grooming gangs report” dismissed as unreliable in today’s Home Office review on child sexual exploitation. Shame its dodgy statistics were so widely reported. Misinformation damages responses to child abuse. (Source:
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This is bizarre. Why was the debunked Quilliam report included in the debate pack for the recent @HouseofCommons debate on “grooming gangs”? Why signpost MPs to junk science discredited by academics & the Home Office alike?
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Just found out I’ve been promoted to Associate Professor @UCLCrimeScience & feeling as happy as this little guy. Big thanks to all my awesome collaborators & colleagues.
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Alert: @QuilliamOrg is IN RETREAT. Corrections have been made to two majorly flawed claims of the original report. Numerous other flaws & rotten foundations still not addressed. Time for a complete retraction & apology? #factsnotfiction #groominggangs
For those who've been asking, here's all four linked threads in one place.
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The concern trolling is draining. If you’re a decent person & I’m not interacting, just know sometimes it can all get too much. I’m blocking/muting sock puppets & trolls. They’ll keep using this as ‘proof’ that I don’t ‘care’. I care about child abuse. I’m not a punching bag.
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I wrote about the need to stop using child sexual abuse as a political football, and focus instead on tackling it more effectively. For @MiddleEastEye
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This is being treated as a wake up call in Canada. It should be one in the UK too. White supremacist Veltman convicted of murdering three generations of a Muslim family. His stated motive was “to send a message to Muslim grooming gangs in the UK” 1/
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Great idea. @O2 please don’t fund media spreading hate & misinformation. We’ve got a couple of longstanding contracts that will take elsewhere if you advertise with these hate mongers. Please stand for responsible communication. #DontFundGBNews.
If you want to help stop “Fox News style” TV in Britain:. *Tweet your mobile phone company using the hashtag #DontFundGBNews.*Urge them not to advertise with GB News or any "Fox News style" channel, & explain why this matters to you:.
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Listening to the “grooming gangs” debate. So wildly disheartening hearing a politician talk about an issue they clearly don’t know - or care to know - the basics about.
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@Sargon_of_Akkad Go on then @Sargon_of_Akkad - show me how exactly I’ve ever defended any rapists? In case you’re forgetting, looks like you’re the one with a history of making sick rape jokes & talking like it’s ok to abuse kids
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If you only care about child sexual abuse when the perpetrators are “Asian”, it’s hard to believe you care about child sexual abuse at all. Frustrated to see myths, misinformation & thinly veiled racism again centre stage in post #Huddersfield discussions about #groominggangs.
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So tired of hot takes on the Christchurch terrorist attack from the same people & organisations that routinely fuel Islamophobia. Show a scrap of decency, please.
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Bit tired of all the misogyny & hate. Time for a twitter break & some bile-free time with my newborn. Thanks everyone who’s been so supportive 💗 . ICYMI, the article’s here:
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Feeling sickened around ‘Tommy Robinson’’s planned protest in Telford today & the screening of racist propaganda dressed up as concern for child sexual abuse. 🧵
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Lecturing on child sexual exploitation @UCLCrimeScience today. The shoddy @QuilliamOrg report on #groominggangs is too dangerous & deceptive not to debunk. Vital that people are able to recognise #badscience & its harms.
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Hugely important in-depth exposé of how the far right are grooming victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. With powerful & brave testimony from “Lara” & a really sharp, thoughtful look at various factors contributing to this brutal mess. By @AndrewKersley for @BylineTimes 1/
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Did anyone else find it just incredibly bleak being back at work today? I don’t think ever I’ve felt so sad, angry and disillusioned about working in a university before.
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To be crystal clear, this is not about individual survivors in the programme. They have been through hell, been horrendously failed by those in authority & have every right to want their stories to be heard. It is about the broader agenda & editorial positioning from GB News.
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It’s not even a year since Braverman was criticised by a Holocaust survivor for using language reminiscent of the Nazis.
NEW: Braverman describes the Palestine protest marches as “hate marches”. “I'm not going to get into matters which are operationally independent for police and CPS…But I’ve made my views clear. These are hate marches, & police must take zero tolerance approach to anti-Semitism”.
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I just can’t. Government claiming it’ll defend free speech & stop “cancel culture”. by stifling academic freedom & defunding research that’s “political” 1/
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Braverman is promoting outrageous misinformation about both child sexual abuse & human trafficking. Propped up by pathetically poor client journalism. Yet more deflection, scaremongering and shameless politicking on the backs of abused and exploited people.
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Have they just quietly changed their slogan? Without so much as an apology for triggering so many sexual violence survivors? The lack of accountability is staggering.
We Want all Survivors to Feel as though they can be a Part of this Campaign around Shaping the Culture Surrounding Affirmative Consent. Send your thoughts to cpbinfo@cpbgroup.com
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In case you were in any doubt that ill-informed, misleading journalism fuels racists: website “Patriotic Alternative” praises op-eds on new Home Office “grooming gangs report” in ✔️Spectator ✔️Mail on Sunday ✔️Spiked. They hated ✖️ @_WaqasTufail & my piece for Guardian tho. 1/2
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Really important piece from @OborneTweets about Richard Sharp's appointment as BBC chairman & the concerns it raises.
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Troubling exposé of the transatlantic network of money & influence - & its eugenics links - apparently driving the UK government’s push for new laws on universities. By @NafeezAhmed for @BylineTimes.
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Braverman absolutely should be challenged on the evidence for her claims. But that’s not enough - there’s also a need to engage with the ways an increasingly hostile environment *actively* pushes asylum seekers & irregular migrants into hyperprecarious work at the margins. 1/.
Braverman: "I think the people coming here illegally do possess values which are at odds with our country. We are seeing heightened levels of criminality when related to the people who've come on boats related to drug dealing, exploitation, prostitution." And the evidence?.
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Irresponsible. Demanding an inquiry - effectively into why certain ethnic groups abuse kids - despite lack of solid evidence that such disproportionality exists. This reinforces racial stereotypes & detracts from the sheer scale, complexity & diversity of child sexual abuse.
Eleven men charged in Sheffield child sex abuse inquiry. @sajidjavid PLEASE commission an inquiry to find out why this keeps happening rather than leaving it to damaging speculation
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I’ve been overwhelmed and struggling, so haven’t had a chance to respond to much yet. I’m so grateful though to all of you who tweeted or otherwise contacted me in solidarity and support. Your kindness means so much, especially having seen some of the gross abuse you then got.
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Just found out I’m blocked by Anne Marie Waters’ front account - despite ZERO interactions. Speaks volumes about far-right’s commitment to misinformation around #groominggangs
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Pure ideology over evidence at play here. What @APPG_CSE is claiming is simply *not true*. Rigorous research shows the legislative model they are proposing fails to live up to its claims of reducing trafficking. And it causes serious harms to already marginalised populations 1/?.
Sex trafficking is preventable. To stop this ruthless trade, the Government must deter demand by outlawing online pimping and paying for sex, while decriminalising victims. We need action now. 👉 Read more in our report, Bust the Business Model:
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Just out: I wrote about the social construction of the “Muslim grooming gangs” crisis for @The_NewArab . The underlying crimes are horrendous, but the spin is dangerous and destructive.
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Nope, it’s only slander if it’s not true. The report claims to be an “academic” “evidence-based” study. It is in fact an exercise in bad science & has zero credibility. @lilyallen is therefore bang on the money in characterising it as “utterly useless”.
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Aw shucks, a whole op-ed about things that fuel the far-right & you forgot to mention teaming up with Tommy or your grooming gangs report. You’re too modest @QuilliamOrg
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Artists should be free to criticise violence and injustice in Palestine without baseless attempts to bully them into silence. This coordinated campaign against @Lowkey0nline is really disturbing.
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Child sexual abuse happens on a horrendous scale - it’s estimated at least 15% of girls & 5% of boys in the UK are sexually abused (@ProfLizKelly & Karsna research for @CSACentre ). Better responses are desperately needed, including proper funding & better data to inform them. 1/.
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@munazainab @lilyallen @MaajidNawaz I can’t deal with this level of gross hypocrisy from an author of the biggest load of inflammatory tripe released as ‘irrefutable’ & ‘evidence-based’.
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And yet when @QuilliamOrg was challenged on its shoddy, hate-enabling report on “grooming gangs”, @MaajidNawaz & co responded with vicious personal attacks.
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Coverage of Quilliam’s funders & alliances gives me cause for concern.I also see potential conflict of interest: the more “grooming gangs” are seen as a Muslim problem,the more a “counter-extremism” think-tank stands to gain. (; 12/.
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New: How the so-called “respectable right” is enabling anti-migrant hate. Written in the wake of the Knowsley riot. Sharing now despite being on strike (up the UCU) cos I’m terrified about what’s happening with this country. From me & @OborneTweets.
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Before making inflammatory claims about what's "disproportionate", maybe clarify exactly what "this horrific crime" is. Without clear inclusion parameters, robust & transparent methods & good data, we should be very sceptical of pseudoscientific claims & spurious statistics.
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Much less attention is being paid to the “nonce” chants, graffiti & overt linkages of Knowsley attacks to “grooming gangs” discourse. The demonisation of refugees is an important driver here, but so too is stereotyping of brown men as sexual predators.
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@MaajidNawaz @lilyallen Nope, it’s only slander if it’s not true. The report claims to be an “academic” “evidence-based” study. It is in fact an exercise in bad science & has zero credibility. @lilyallen is therefore bang on the money in characterising it as “utterly useless”.
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For those who've been asking, here's all four linked threads in one place.
THREAD (PART 1 of 4): Why you shouldn’t trust @QuilliamOrg ‘s report on #groominggangs & the claim that 84% of “grooming gang offenders” are Asian. An evidence-based critique. 1/.
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Says the guy apparently placing @QuilliamOrg 's interests above those of victims & communities endangered by inflammatory pseudoscience? I seem to remember @kenanmalik observing "When it suits, Quilliam researchers are happy to exploit their racial identity to deflect criticism.".
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@nazkebab77 @munazainab @lilyallen @MaajidNawaz Nope,no response. I suspect the radio silence on libel threats against me combined with unfounded accusations of racism as a deflection mean they know perfectly well how flawed it is & that it can’t withstand scrutiny. If only its damage could be undone.
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@nazirafzal Selective outrage in action. Interesting that the article doesn’t once refer to them as a “grooming gang” either.
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With an estimated 1 in 13 kids having been sexually abused, is it that damn hard to care about them all? I’m just so fed up with and disgusted by people weaponising such a devastating crime for their own agendas.
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Good to see @kenanmalik & @guardian @ObserverUK engaging with dangers of bad evidence driving responses to important,complex & diverse issue of child sexual exploitation.We’re told 84% of grooming gangs are Asian. But where’s the evidence? | Kenan Malik
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Braverman’s claims were so obviously wrong at the time, and half hearted corrections and weasly excuses so far down the line don’t undo the harm caused. That said, good on @miqdaad & @cfmmuk for this important challenge.
After her racist smear was forcibly corrected (ht @cfmmuk), a source close to Braverman admits:. When referring to the 'grooming gangs phenomenon', she only meant high profile cases where Pakistani men were involved & not all group-based child sexual abuse.
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And don’t get me started on irony of the far right pretending to care about violence against women when this is how they talk about a female academic who threatens their narrative 2/2
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Cc: @DrMatthewSweet @Otto_English @docrussjackson - I know you’ve all also been raising concerns about GB news breaching Ofcom code on other matters, so may be of interest. I couldn’t find a complaints procedure on GB news website so had to go direct to Ofcom.
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@QuilliamOrg ‘s shoddy “research” & dubious claims of “conclusively irrefutable” overrepresentation of Asian offenders have been promoted heavily, reported widely,cited uncritically & used to legitimise both casual racism & far-right activity. It’s time to call them to account.4/.
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Rather than just get angry about vile media coverage, @StopFundingHate deincentivises it by helping make hate unprofitable. Using consumer purchasing power, we can encourage brands to take their advertising £££ elsewhere and starve these hate mongers of revenue. #DontFundGBNews.
If you want to help stop “Fox News style” TV in Britain:. *Tweet your mobile phone company using the hashtag #DontFundGBNews.*Urge them not to advertise with GB News or any "Fox News style" channel, & explain why this matters to you:.
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“Sharp needs to explain himself. Major public appointments cannot be left to patronage and cronyism”. @OborneTweets speaking truth to power.
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So disturbing that a government affiliated agency pays Quilliam for ‘academic’ research. Does @CommissionCE just not care about basic research standards their “grooming gangs” report flouted -like transparency, rigour &. er not doctoring a report & then lying about it?.
Thank you to @drusamahasan, @ToubeDavid and Muna Khan of @QuilliamOrg for their paper on Islamist institutions and organisations. It’s one of a series of academic papers we have published today. Read it here: .
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Very interesting piece from @NafeezAhmed . It’s long past time @LBC takes some responsibility for giving a show to someone so notorious for promoting dangerous misinformation.
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Are we surprised that sexual harassment is so utterly, miserably common when it’s treated as unimportant, something to suck up and brush off? But it’s not, it affects how we feel, how we act, that pervasive sense of risk. It needs to be taken seriously. 4
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My interview with @SocialistWorker around the toxic narrative of the "Asian sex gang problem". There have been terrible, horrific cases. Please stop distorting the complexities of child sexual abuse & whitewashing out victims & offenders to promote agendas.
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Just out: our new report with @UKAntiSlavery on the war in Ukraine and associated risks of human trafficking and exploitation is now out. Based on a roundtable of over a 100 experts. Co-written with @Aiden_S @UCLCrimeScience
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First, let’s be clear: some Asian men have committed horrific sexual offences against children.The offenders we’ve seen on the news are real & they are certainly not the only ones.I’m not downplaying their vile crimes or the harms caused.I truly mean no disrespect to survivors.2/.
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Yesterday’s parliamentary debate on “grooming gangs” exposed how overt the racism is here. Several politicians used language of far right & many reduced “grooming gangs” to Pakistani heritage men abusing white girls (apparently its only they who are “our girls” & of concern) 1/?.
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I have no good pics cos didn’t want to lose the kids in the biggest crowds I’ve ever seen. But there is nothing that restores your hope in humanity more than standing with thousands upon thousands of people who do think Palestinian lives matter too.
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This coverage is appalling @BBCr4today . It’s misinforming the public, furthering anti-Albanian rhetoric, minimising harms to extremely vulnerable children and young people, & detracting from state failures to protect them. 1/.
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This is farcical. Sharp claims to have to donated to Quilliam to “help fight radicalism”-yet their grooming gangs report was embraced by racists & extremists. If,as he says, “truth is very, very important”, why did he fund these producers of harmful pseudoscience? @KevinBrennanMP.
Richard Sharp (incoming BBC chair) found Maajid Nawaz "impressive" & why he donated to Quilliam in 2017 & 2019. ICYMI: Quilliam's 2017 grooming report was called "shoddy pseudoscience" & debunked by the Home Office & Maajid Nawaz has been peddling conspiracy theories about Trump
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From start to finish, the report is a case study in #badscience. That matters because bad science makes for bad decisions. These “data” are people & misrepresenting them can cause real harms. 8/.
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Research ought to include a declaration of funding source & any conflicts of interest. We do so because a lung cancer study funded by a tobacco firm, say, should be scrutinised extra closely. This report contains no such information. 11/.
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Braverman is pure poison. It’s also worth remembering how much form The Times has for pushing hate and misinformation about Muslims.
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Giving up anonymity is a big decision & if child sexual exploitation survivors are being pushed into it by those with an agenda that’s really unethical & worrying.
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“It is clear from our review that criminalisation of #sexwork normalises violence and reinforces gender, racial, economic & other inequalities.Decriminalisation of sex work is urgently needed, but other areas must also be addressed” @pippagrenfell in
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Just spoke with @BBCr4today (from 06.46) about how the Government is contradicting the evidence base (incl its own evidence), letting offenders off the hook & overlooking victims. It’s a distraction from its failings & the desperate need to tackle child sexual abuse effectively.
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Some key messages from my presentation @ukhomeoffice today about my research on six so-callled “grooming gangs”. 1) Crimes horrific but offenders not very sophisticated or organised (opportunism key);2) No evidence white girls deliberately targeted (& many victims were BME) 1/3.
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I am not kidding when I say that the “grooming gangs” debate was filled with some of the most blatant racism & misinformation I have ever seen in UK politics. Utterly shameful.
@DrEllaC Did he just suggest Pakistanis should be convicted under seperate laws aimed just for Pakistanis??.
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@d0td0td0ts @Textualsatisfac @BinaShah @66ALW99 @sunny_hundal @SimonFRCox @MaajidNawaz @QuilliamOrg @Jessicae13Eaton If I were marking @QuilliamOrg ‘s “research” (😂) as a student assignment, I’d fail it twice if I could. I wouldn’t normally be so harsh but the sheer intellectual dishonesty & irresponsibility of releasing this tripe badged as “evidence” means I’m not holding back.
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THREAD (PART 4 of 4): Why you shouldn’t trust @QuilliamOrg ‘s report on #groominggangs & the claim that 84% of “grooming gang offenders” are Asian. An evidence-based critique. 1/.
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Really not keen on this. 1. Most abuse happens in the home 2. Self defence classes aren’t likely to help in event of abuse (& may even hurt) 3. Perpetuates myth that ‘real’ victims fight back 4. Plays on parental fears/shaming to sell service. Cc: @telford_gurl @Jessicae13Eaton.
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For all those asking,the corrected (non-paywalled) version of the @QuilliamOrg report that I now have contains *no acknowledgment* that corrections were made.Making furtive changes is extremely poor practice & raises (yet more) serious questions. #factsnotfiction #accountability.
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