When a fellow panellist on Question Time mentioned the grooming gangs back in May, Labour’s new deputy leader Lucy Powell responded with “oh, we want to blow that little trumpet now do we” and “let’s get that dog whistle out shall we”.
This is a crime that thrives on misinformation, on fears of “racism” and a lack of awareness, and on being swept under the rug.
They rely on girls not being taken seriously, the media not caring and the police not taking any action to investigate.
These are not crimes of the past. Kids are still being exploited, groomed, raped and even murdered in council estates like mine. It isn’t enough to have empty words and hollow promises.
CSE is not a “dog whistle”. It is a national epidemic.
But those in power like Lucy Powell refuse to address that fact for fear of being forced to confront their decades-long failure to protect young girls from abuse.
It’s easier to ignore victims, especially when they come from communities, social classes or demographics that are already disenfranchised in Britain. And for those who do speak out, it feels like you are screaming at a brick wall that would rather label you as the problem than take you seriously.
Our trauma isn’t a “dog-whistle” or a “trumpet” to blow against the Labour Party.
It is the harrowing reality of the institutional blindness and contempt that allowed little girls to be sacrificed at the altar of political correctness, while politicians sneered and branded us troublemakers and attention-seekers for daring to want justice.
Shame on Lucy Powell. Shame on Labour. Shame on all of them.
Mick Hartley 
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