EDL exploits teenage deaths

Submitted by Matthew on 1 June, 2011 - 12:15

On 28 May the racist EDL held a demo in Blackpool. It was about two teenagers whom the police suspect had been sexually exploited prior to death. Why do the EDL care about these girls? Because the acquitted suspects are from Muslim backgrounds and the girls were white.

Charlene Downes and Paige Chivers were both from Blackpool. Fourteen-year-old Downes disappeared in 2003. Her body has never been found, but it seems likely she has been murdered. A prosecution was brought against shop owners of Jordanian origin, but collapsed.

Chivers was 15 and disappeared in 2007. No one has ever been charged, but police believe that, like Charlene Downes, she was sexually exploited by older males in the same area of Blackpool.

The right wing press and the EDL argue that these two cases and many others involve the “grooming” of young white women by Asian men and are being ignored by the authorities because of political correctness. The truth is very different.

Young men and women who disappear, or are victims of rape or sexual exploitation, are almost always poor and many are in the care system. Many are black or Asian, and the abusers and killers are overwhelmingly white.

In 2008 there were more than 800 registered “high risk” sex offenders living in Blackpool. The majority are white.

Blackpool had double the national rate of young people in care and one of the highest levels of deprivation. In such towns young people are more likely to be sexually abused. Official indifference is more likely to be due to the social class of the victims rather then the race of the abusers.

There is a long and shabby history of racists whipping up scares about young white women being under threat from predatory black or Asian men. The EDL are seeking to make horrific cases of abuse into crude racist propaganda.

Charlene Downes and Paige Chivers deserve justice and to not have their memory exploited by cynical, racist scum.

Comments

Submitted by cathy n on Fri, 18/11/2011 - 11:30

And your point is what? That child abusers only come from the Pakistani community? That child abuse only happens to white children and teenagers? Ridiculous logic. Offensive too. Not least to victims of abuse.

We are in favour of all people who commit child abuse - in all circumstances (and there a shockingly vast number of circumstances) - being "brought to justice". Are you?

Submitted by david kirk on Sun, 20/11/2011 - 11:31

The point is that the EDL, Griffin et al latch on to these specific cases to exploit racial tensions. Not only do they not particularly care about white on white or asian on asian sexual abuse they have a track record of accusing women of bringing rape on themselves and the vilest misogony.

The vast majority of sexual abuse in Britain is carried out by white people on white people. A lot of asian young people are also subject to sexual abuse as well.

"Grooming" is sexual abuse like the other forms of Sexual abuse. Its only acheived attention compared to the many ignored cases because its seen to be asian men abusing white young women.

To tackle sexual abuse we need to radically attack poverty and housing as well as a much better resourced social services. We also need the authorities to take these issues seriously.

We do need to attack the kind of attitude that sees any women as "easy meat". This is attitude exists amongst some asian men but also widespread in amongst some white and black men as well. Its a problem of the ideas prevelent in capitalist society and only a united working class liberation movement that unites black, white and Asian working class people can do that.

Submitted by david kirk on Sun, 20/11/2011 - 11:56

As socialists we have little confidence in the police. Time and time again we see them acting in the interests of capital and against the interests of working class people. They also have a long history of deep ingraned and often violent racism.

However we do not call for the police to be abolished as an immediate demand but instead would put them under much greater democratic control. We would also make the police focus on violent and sexual crime in a way it doesnt do now. To prevent sexual abuse the police should be working with other agenies to support, help, educate and empower the potential targets of these assaults (i.e. young people especially those in care). This means targetting the vulnerable group for support. This is what some police forces and social services have done with issues such as forced marriage and domestic violence.

This is very different from racial profiling and targetting an entire community as potential perpretrators. The evidence is that this will make it even harder for issues to be resolved.

However in this case the issue is sexual assault and just becuase some Asian men have been involved it does not mean it is an issue for the Asian community any more or less then it is a urgent issue for the whole of our society. Focus on grooming will lead to the mis-diagnosis of the seriousness and wide spread nature of the disease of abuse, the causes of that abuse and to prescibe the wrong solutions.

Submitted by david kirk on Sat, 11/07/2015 - 12:55

Finally the killer of Paige Chivers has been brought to justice.
Robert Ewing groomed Paige for a long time and even rang the police claiming a underage runaway had turned up at his house. Only when the level official indifference towards vulnerable teenagers like Paige became clear did he feel safe to commit the murder.
Robert Ewing is a self described Neo Nazi active in the BNP and EDL. He took part in the EDLs demo's were they blamed Asian gangs for Paige's and Charlene Downes murder.
Hopefully justice for Charlene Downes is coming soon.
The broader issues of the attitudes of indifference and contempt from the authorities towards 'troubled' working class youth has started to be exposed due to this case as well as sex abuse cases in Rotherham, Oxford and Rochdale.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/paige-chivers-murder-paedophile-fo…

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