A leading Sikh organisation has called on the Home Secretary to expand the scope of the government’s grooming gangs audit, highlighting the targeting of Sikh and Hindu girls by perpetrators who consider them “fair game.”
The Network of Sikh Organisations UK (NSO), led by Lord Singh of Wimbledon, has written to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper urging the inclusion of race and religion as contributing factors in grooming crimes. The group contends that the issue extends beyond vulnerable white working-class communities to impact minority groups, including Sikhs and Hindus.
In its letter, the NSO wrote, “Although much of the focus on victims has rightly been on those from vulnerable white working-class communities, we want to highlight how this stain on British society has also long impacted the Sikh and Hindu community too.”
The call for action comes after Cooper, facing mounting pressure, recently announced local government-backed inquiries and a national three-month audit into gang-based exploitation. The audit, led by Baroness Casey of Blackstock, will examine the prevalence and nature of grooming gangs, alongside their cultural and societal drivers.
Historical cases of abuse
The NSO cited instances of Sikh girls being groomed and exploited. Among them was a 2013 case where a Sikh teenager in Leicester was sexually exploited by a group of Muslim men, enduring abuse in cars, parks, and guest rooms across the city.
The letter also referred to a decade-old BBC investigation, which uncovered evidence of potentially dozens of Sikh girls being targeted. Despite the findings, only a few cases were brought to court. The NSO emphasised that Sikh and Hindu communities have faced systemic targeting over the years, “Over the decades, we have been well aware of the targeting of girls from our community and those from the Hindu community.”
The organisation pointed to cases where perpetrators justified their crimes by referencing religious texts and targeting non-Muslims. The NSO highlighted these motivations as being rooted in both cultural and religious drivers.
“We cannot shy away from the irrefutable truth that non-Muslim girls are considered fair game by some perpetrators, by virtue of the fact they are kuffars (a derogatory term for non-Muslims). Until we are honest about this admittedly uncomfortable factor, we will be no further forward in addressing cases which involve racially and religiously motivated targeting of vulnerable girls from all our communities.”
Divisive responses
The NSO’s appeal is expected to spark debate, particularly among some Muslim groups, who have previously criticised what they see as the politicisation of the grooming gang issue. Earlier this month, the Muslim Council of Britain pushed back against claims of disproportionate involvement by specific ethnic groups, stating:
“Despite persistent racist narratives, recent data ... show that perpetrators come from all backgrounds and that most group-based offenders are white.”
Lord Singh clarified that the letter was not an attack on the Muslim community as a whole, emphasising that he has consistently spoken out on issues affecting Muslims. However, he maintained that addressing the misuse of religion to justify crimes is critical:
“People behave badly under the cloak of religion, and it’s important to face this head-on.”
Baroness Casey’s review is set to analyse ethnicity and demographic data linked to grooming gangs. However, the NSO is calling for the review to go further by explicitly examining the roles of race and religion in these crimes.
The Home Office has yet to comment on the letter or whether the audit’s scope will be expanded. By pushing for a more comprehensive approach, the NSO hopes to ensure that justice is served for all victims, regardless of their background, and that no community is overlooked in the pursuit of accountability.
