Groomed - a National Scandal
A powerful new Channel 4 documentary, Groomed: A National Scandal by BAFTA-winning filmmaker Anna Hall, has cast a renewed and uncomfortable spotlight on the UK’s ongoing failure to safeguard children from organised sexual exploitation.
The film follows more than two decades of Hall’s investigative work on gang grooming and reveals, through deeply personal and distressing testimony, that children continue to be catastrophically let down by the very systems designed to protect them.
The documentary focuses on five young women: Chantelle, Jade, Steph, Scarlett, and Erin who bravely share their stories of grooming, rape, and exploitation. Many speak on camera for the first time. Actors portray some to protect their identities, while others waive their anonymity entirely.
Their accounts expose not only the unimaginable abuse they suffered, but also how authorities repeatedly failed to act. Some victims were even criminalised themselves, mislabelled as prostitutes or dismissed as troubled teenagers, rather than recognised as vulnerable children in urgent need of safeguarding and justice. The survivors’ stories span decades, yet mirror one another disturbingly closely. One woman states starkly in the film:
‘They’re not gonna stop. It’s actually organised crime.’
Hall’s documentary goes far beyond headlines and political debates. It painstakingly reveals how Local Authorities, police, and social services have repeatedly ignored reports, shut down investigations (such as Operation Augusta), and in many cases criminalised the very children they were supposed to protect.
This failure is not only a historic one. Despite previous exposés, the documentary highlights how grooming gangs continue to operate today, with survivors still fighting for justice while living with the lifelong trauma of abuse. Former detective Maggie Oliver, now a whistleblower, and Marlon West, whose daughter was abused, appear in the film to show the devastating impact on families and communities. Their accounts, alongside those of the survivors, demonstrate that this is not just about individual failings, it is about a system unfit for purpose.
The issue has been politically charged for many years, with hijacked narratives and racial tensions, a fact the film tackles head-on. In the 2010s, campaigns for justice were hijacked by far-right groups such as the BNP and EDL, while the resurfacing of the issue in recent months has been amplified by provocative figures including Elon Musk. In January, Musk accused the Prime Minister (formerly the Director of Public Prosecutions) of failing to act, tweeting:
‘Starmer was complicit in the RAPE OF BRITAIN.’
The Prime Minister responded to Musk’s tweet stating that ‘a line has been crossed’ and denounced the ‘lies and misinformation’, referring to Musk’s tweets about paedophile gangs operating since the mid-2000s in the north of England.
However, statements like Musk’s have reignited global attention and polarised public opinion. While Hall’s film addresses the racial dynamic sensitively, acknowledging that many of the perpetrators were British-Pakistani men while reinforcing that white men perpetrate the majority of child abuse in Britain in domestic settings, it is careful to avoid fuelling divisive narratives. Hall herself notes:
‘I wanted to make another film that tackles the issue of race head on.’
Channel 4’s Shaminder, Head of Specialist Factual Commissioning, calls the documentary ‘urgent and vital.’ He describes it as a film that:
‘...shines a light on a deeply troubling reality - decades after these scandals were first exposed, victims are still being failed by the very institutions meant to protect them.’
Anna Hall echoes this sentiment:
‘This is a film that will shake the nation. It’s not just about retelling past horrors, it’s about showing that these patterns of abuse are still happening today.’
The survivors featured in Groomed: A National Scandal make clear that their fight is not only for their own justice but to prevent future victims from being failed in the same way.
The Role of Safeguarding Professionals
For those working in education, health, social care and other child-facing sectors, Groomed: A National Scandal is essential viewing. It highlights why robust safeguarding frameworks, professional vigilance and trauma-informed responses are vital. Commenting, SSS Learning Director of Safeguarding, Sam Preston stated:
‘A vital part of tackling this abuse is ensuring safeguarding professionals and staff across all agencies are trained to understand this safeguarding thematic, to recognise risk factors, and to implement protective measures. This is a key element of our CPD-accredited safeguarding training. It is absolutely essential that all staff are equipped to Recognise the indicators of child sexual exploitation; Understand contextual safeguarding and organised abuse; Respond appropriately and sensitively to disclosures; Fulfil statutory duties to protect and support vulnerable children.’
All organisations can contribute to ensuring survivors are heard, protected, and supported by committing to ongoing professional development and fostering a culture of vigilance and accountability.
Sara Spinks
SSS Author & Former Headteacher
14 May 2025
