[Osem]

Gonna need some bigger prisons if this carries on. You have to wonder just how many of these cases would never have happened if word hadn't got around that this sort of thing had been cracked down upon years ago when it seems certain blind eyes were turned by people who should have known better.

Of course there's always another side to the story. I heard an interview today on the radio with one of the girls who'd been abused in Rotherham years ago. Listening to her story and despite whatever sympathy I have for her, it's clear that her own actions contributed to the situation. Her parents were powerless to deal with her behaviour and she admitted she'd have done anything to be with the guy she knew was maltreating her. A caller with some experience in this field made a very good point that parents are now virtually powerless to deal with teenagers and the sort of control they'd once have had has long gone. So it's easy to blame the authorities (and it's clear serious mistakes have been made) and without looking a bit further at how society has changed, how parenting has in all too many cases become a lost art and how so many young girls are routinely allowed to place themselves in grave danger (all too often through alcohol) seemingly without too much concern for what may happen to them.

How difficult is it to help someone who not only doesn't want to be helped but will do virtually anything to obstruct those trying to help?