Recent revelations have disclosed once again the scale of female victims of police grooming [1]. The revelations made public a number of women who were being investigated by undercover officers and then became victims of such practices.

One victim stated: “And the thing that also makes me feel even more violated, most violated, is that this deception, this relationship, this abuse wasn’t just being perpetrated by one person. It wasn’t just between myself and Mark, it was the whole police department.”

There is an on-going public inquiry into undercover policing where several women received apologies and compensation.

The abhorrent nature of this story has not seen the scale of outrage when compared with when the perpetrators were people of colour. This despite many social media campaigns working to stop and expose such evil practices (#MeToo), many more victims abused by those in authority are frequently speaking out against being taken advantage of and exploited. According to the ONS Crime Survey for England and Wales, January 2013, one in five women have experienced some form of sexual violence since the age of 16 and women are nearly five times likely to have experienced sexual assault as men.

This tragic incident is simply a continuation of cases where similar patterns of abuse have been carried out. In October 2018 PC Ian Naude ‘a committed paedophile’ who served with Cheshire Police was accused of joining the police to ‘gain the keys to a sweet shop’ and exploit vulnerable girls [2]. In the same year, PC Adam Provan was jailed for raping a 16-year-old girl in the woods in November during a ‘brazen and calculated attack’ in Wood Green. The prosecution stated ‘PC Provan abused his position to win the trust of his victim and deliberately deceived her’ [3].

It seems to not be the case of a few bad apples – the problem or the use of grooming is a tool frequently employed by the police and security establishment.

Celebrities, sports and TV personalities as well as politicians have all been implicated in grooming young girls which sadly shows how widespread a problem this is in the UK. The women groomed and raped by those in authority are but victims of a system that believes the ends justifies the means.

In stark contrast through Islam, women are viewed with high status and dignity. Both genders are commanded to respect and care for each other. The Prophet (SAW) said [4]:

حدثنا أبو كريب قال: حدثنا عبدة بن سليمان، عن محمد بن عمرو قال: حدثنا أبو سلمة، عن أبي هريرة قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: أكمل المؤمنين إيمانا أحسنهم خلقا، وخيركم خيركم لنسائهم

“The most complete of the believers in faith, is the one with the best character among them. And the best of you are those who are best to your women.”

Islam regulates the relationship between men and women through the legal (Shariah) and is the complete opposite of what we see in secular liberal societies. Women are not a commodity or a tool to be used to infiltrate a political group. The ends justifying the means is the antithesis to Islam’s social system.

Under the current secular liberal world order, we see women used to achieve commercial goals and the constant use of her sexuality. This creates an environment where women are viewed as second class citizens resulting in the breakdown of families. In the 21st century, women still suffer from state-sponsored exploitation.

[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-47240670
[2] https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-shropshire-46208724
[3] https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-46401807
[4] Source: Jami’ Al-Tirmidhi, Muhammad ibn Issa at-Tirmidhi, Vol. 1, Book 7, Hadith 1162