Grooming gang survivors have branded Labour's sentencing reforms as the softest in a generation, describing them as 'soul-crushing' as dangerous rapists are set to be released early from prison. Five victims will descend on Parliament on Tuesday to demand that some of the country's worst paedophiles remain behind bars, with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch set to force Labour MPs into a bombshell vote.
Victims Receive Letters Warning of Early Release
The outcry comes after victims received letters warning them that their attackers could be let out after serving just 33% of their sentences. One survivor revealed she 'can't eat, can't sleep', and when she does, she wakes up crying and terrified that men have broken into her home. Another woman, who was raped and sexually abused when she was 12, said she is still being threatened by her attackers.
Survivor Fiona Goddard Speaks Out
Revealing the mental torment, survivor Fiona Goddard told ministers: 'Survivors do not get early release from the trauma.' She added: 'We are left carrying it for life – in our minds, in our bodies, in our homes.' Ms Goddard said: 'I have barely left the house. I feel constantly anxious, frightened and unsafe. I can barely sleep, and when I do, I do not feel rested. This news has affected me so deeply that my physical health has suffered, resulting in hospital admissions. It is not fair. The state failed us when we were children, and now it feels as though we are being failed all over again. We spent years fighting for justice, reliving the worst things that happened to us, only to be told by email that violent offenders may be released early because prisons are overcrowded. The Government should be protecting women and girls, but this goes against everything survivors were promised.'
Statistics Reveal Extent of Early Releases
Under Labour's proposals, more than 90% of offenders sent to prison for child grooming and more than 60% sent to prison for rape every year will be allowed out early. Perverts caught making, distributing or publishing child sex abuse images and fiends jailed for sexual activity with a child could spend just a third of their sentence behind bars. The vast majority of rapists will get out after serving half of their sentence behind bars.
Other Survivors Share Their Ordeals
Grooming gang survivor Novah said: 'What the public and decision-makers need to know is that the crimes that they commit against us children, because that's what we were, are lifelong lasting. It impacts me every day, such as my parenting and when I go out. It impacts me massively, and this is what people do not understand. These people go to open prison, and they've got a lovely life there because they've got PlayStations and their families call them when they want. Then there's us survivors who are sat at home in absolute pieces, with nobody around them because they don't trust anybody because of these absolute monsters.'
Erin, who was abused for nine years by a notorious drug gang, said: 'Hearing that the men who abused me may be released early has completely broken my sense of safety. My family and I still receive active threats from these men and their families to this day. If they are released early, our lives will be in direct danger. It is deeply wrong that this country is allowing dangerous men back onto the streets, where they can harm women and children, while survivors are left to live in terror. The perpetrators' families have targeted survivors, named them, set up hate campaigns against them, damaged their own anonymity and continued to terrorise us, yet no action appears to have been taken. It feels as though their behaviour is being condoned, and it leaves survivors feeling triggered, unsafe and without justice. I feel undermined, overlooked and worthless, as though my safety does not matter at all. After everything I have survived, I am left terrified and once again under threat by the very men who harmed me. The justice system made broken promises to protect victims, but instead I feel like I am being played like a puppet in a political and police system that prioritises the freedom of dangerous criminals over the lives of survivors.'
Jessica, who was abused by more than 50 men from the age of 12, said: 'When I received the letter I just started crying. It's only been two years since court and my case took eight years to get to court. They might not even serve eight years. With the criminal court case only ending a couple of years ago my anxiety and fears were just about settling down. Now I've gone a million steps back. I can't eat. I can't sleep. The few hours of sleep I do get are trauma dreams. I wake up crying, looking around my house at all hours of the morning to make sure that no one is there. I just can't believe two years after court, I've now got to think about them coming out. It's soul-crushing.'
Carly, who was first attacked from the age of 12, said: 'It is just another kick in the teeth. They have just taken what little justice away from us as we are still continuing our fight out here. They are all going to be released while we are still fighting to get full accountability and full justice for survivors and while there is a national grooming gang inquiry going on. I just feel like it undermines it all. We cannot let people who have abused children for years and decades onto the streets. How is it safe? It is not safe for our children, and it's not safe for the next generation of children. You are just releasing them back onto the streets for them to commit further offences, with a probation system that is fully broken.'
Political Reaction
Wannabe prime minister Andy Burnham is rumoured to be exploring ways to prevent child sex offenders from walking free. Labour has already released more than 60,000 offenders early in a desperate bid to prevent an overcrowding crisis behind bars. Kemi Badenoch, Leader of the Conservative Party, said: 'It is frankly disgusting that convicted rapists, paedophiles and grooming gangs are being let out early by Labour. We warned the Government their Sentencing Bill would do this, but they didn't listen. Now even Andy Burnham is saying he wants to change the law, so groomers and rapists aren't eligible for early release. If Labour MPs want to show they understand the fury that many people feel about this situation, they should vote for the Conservative Party's motion and keep vile sex offenders behind bars.'
