As the Manager of Risky Business, a youth work programme in Rotherham, Jayne Senior reported nearly 1700 cases of grooming and sexual exploitation. Frustrated by the inability of the authorities to protect these extremely vulnerable children or to bring justice for them, she even risked imprisonment by secretly leaking confidential documents to Andrew Norfolk of The Times.
In a series of articles he then exposed the scandal, revealing how both the police and social services failed to take apprpriate action.
A subsequent report into the scandal carried out by Professor Alexis Jay found that between 1997-2013, at least 1400 children were subjected to a series of abuse, mainly by Pakistani men. It also criticised Rotherham council's leadership and South Yorkshire police. Since being vindicated for her actions, Senior has worked with the identified victims of abuse and will stand as a Labour council candidate in Rotherham in May.
Jayne's book 'Broken and Betrayed: The True Story of Rotherham Abuse Scandal by the Woman Who Fought to Expose It' has been published by Pan Books and be available from Thursday.
