ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the representations and discourse of racialised and non-racialised reporting of child sexual abuse and situates the ‘grooming’ scandals in the context of anti–Muslim racism. It examines the ways in which the Rotherham child sex case abuse cases and their aftermath were reported, while also referencing the Rochdale child sex abuse cases. Following the revelations of the child abuse cases within Rotherham and Rochdale and the intense media scrutiny that accompanied them, numerous examples of Muslim and Asian communities experiencing negative consequences became apparent. Feelings of criminalisation and alienation were also reported in interviews with second generation British Muslims from the Greater Manchester area. Similar sentiments were also expressed by Shaukat, a 27–year old optician who, in referencing the Rochdale child abuse case, felt that the tag of ‘Muslim’ was inappropriately attached to incidents reported by the media when in fact this information was ‘irrelevant’.
