Hundreds of my abusers are still out there, says victim as grooming inquiry launched. 11 hours ago. Sima KotechaSenior UK correspondent. BBC. Penny was just 12 when she was groomed by several men of Pakistani heritage.. She told the BBC how the men initially won over her affection by showering her with expensive gifts. But within weeks, she said they turned violent and abusive.. “I was covered in very deep cigarette burns, which actually burned through my skin into my flesh. By the time I was 13 and a half, I weighed six stone (38.1kg). I was abused every day,” Penny, which is not her real name, said.. “They were selling me and other girls for sex to men who were coming from all over the country, to different houses, different places and to different strangers. You would be given drugs and alcohol so you were so out of your head you didn’t know what day it was.”. ‘Never been brought to justice’. Even though some of her perpetrators were convicted of rape and trafficking, Penny said “hundreds of men” who abused her remain free to do what they want.. “There are lots and lots of men who were involved with us who have never been brought to justice. I imagine that if they had those sexual tendencies then, they’ll still have those tendencies now and they’ll find a way to fulfil those tendencies,” she said.. Her story comes as the terms of reference for the statutory independent inquiry into grooming gangs are published.. They set out the scope of the investigation into the scale of abuse of young girls who were sexually exploited by groups of mostly men in England and Wales. They include:. Looking at how grooming gangs operated – and how they were able to continue for so long. Examining what police forces knew, and what they did or did not do, with that knowledge. Looking at the cultural and institutional factors that led to children being disbelieved, dismissed or, in too many cases, blamed for their own abuse. ‘Uncomfortable truths’. The inquiry will look at cases spanning the last 30 years to aim to understand patterns of abuse.. It vows to “not shy away” from investigating any factor that led to the abuse and exploitation of victims – including culture, ethnicity and religion. It promises to hold people to account, if necessary.. It will also conduct local investigations – Oldham has been confirmed as among the first areas. A framework for selecting further areas will be published within three months.. Baroness Longfield, chair of the Statutory Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs, said: “Children across England and Wales were and are sexually abused and exploited. When they asked for help, they were too often disbelieved, dismissed, or blamed. That is the reality this inquiry exists to address.. “Victims and survivors have every right to ask whether this inquiry will be any different from those that came before. My answer is this: where we can, we will publish our findings as we go, not in a single report years from now. There will be no opport
