Jayne’s the Woman of the Year

CSE whistleblower Jayne Senior thanked victims who put trust in her as she was given the Women of the Year outstanding achievement award.

The honour was in recognition of her bravery and dedication in raising awareness of the scandal and helping survivors to get the support they needed.

Jayne was among six winners at the 60th anniversary Women of the Year Lunch & Awards at the InterContinental hotel on London’s Park Lane on Monday.

She said: “I am honoured to receive this Women of the Year award. A new journey has begun for me now and hopefully for Rotherham.

“I hope it will be seen one day as the town that gets it right, as it develops new services based on the voices of those affected by abuse.

“I give a heartfelt thank you to those children who trusted me and my team to believe their stories.”

Jayne ran the council youth programme Risky Business for 11 years, reporting nearly 1,700 cases of troubled youngsters which were mostly ignored by authorities.

She leaked documents which eventually led to the Jay report exposing the full extent of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham.

She worked as a CSE advisor to MP Sarah Champion after the Jay report, is currently chief executive at Swinton Lock Activity Centre and continues to support survivors.

Women of the Year chairman Jane Luca said: “Jayne’s tireless work campaigning for the victims of child abuse in Rotherham is truly inspirational.”

Lindsay Nicholson, editorial director at category sponsor Good Housekeeping, said: “Jayne has shown extraordinary courage and commitment in fighting for 16 years to protect vulnerable girls in Rotherham from ruthless, organised sexual exploitation by a network of paedophiles.”