Commissioner meets CSE victims at Swinton activity centre

She commended their strength and added: “Today I met some inspirational young women who have reminded me how important it is for agencies to work together to protect, support and listen to victims of crime.

“The criminal justice system is a bureaucratic, process-driven entity that sometimes forgets that police interview rooms and courtrooms can be frightening and intimidating places.

“However, by learning from victims’ experiences, criminal justice agencies can improve the way they treat victims to make sure they have access to the right support, at the right time and for as long as they need it.”

Swinton Lock currently supports about 150 CSE survivors and their relatives.

Rotherham MP Sarah Champion, who also attended, said: “It was really important for me to get the victims’ commissioner to meet some Rotherham abuse survivors. 

“Every survivor of abuse I meet wants to do something positive to stop someone else becoming a victim, but they also share horror stories of how poorly they were treated through the justice system.

“As a society we must stop failing our victims and instead learn from their experiences to make the system better.”