FIVE female survivors of child sexual exploitation have called on Nigel Farage to apologise after the Reform leader questioned whether they were genuine victims of organised abuse networks.
The women described Farage's remarks as "degrading and humiliating", saying his comments had left them "feeling like we have to defend ourselves and prove that we are victims again", reported the Guardian.
Speaking at a press conference this week, Farage suggested the women had experienced different forms of child sexual abuse rather than organised exploitation by groups of abusers.
"There are two very distinctly different groups of young people who are sexually abused and raped by adults," the Reform leader said, claiming the government had "quite deliberately, from the very start, widened the scope" of an inquiry by including survivors of various types of abuse.
However, in a statement, the five women flatly rejected his characterisation of their experiences.
"Nigel Farage should apologise. What he said about us is categorically untrue, saying we shouldn't be on the panel because we are watering it down and we are survivors of other abuse, not [organised child sexual exploitation]. We are survivors of [group-based abuse]," they said.
The women accused Farage of making assumptions without proper knowledge of their cases. "His ignorance and untrue statements about us, our experiences and the validity of our involvement, his lack of understanding or care to look into our lives to make sure what he was saying was true, has meant he has dismissed people who this inquiry is for," they added.
The dispute centres on a government inquiry ordered in June following recommendations by Whitehall troubleshooter Louise Casey, who conducted an audit into child sexual exploitation.
Casey's review identified "disproportionate numbers of men from Asian ethnic backgrounds" amongst "suspects for group-based child sexual exploitation" in certain areas, though she warned it was difficult to establish a comprehensive national picture due to limited ethnicity data in most cases.
The five women who defended safeguarding minister Jess Phillips stressed that while they had been abused by Asian men, they recognised "the inquiry is not just about us". Some members of the group were also targeted by abusers from other ethnic backgrounds.
Around 30 survivors of gang-based abuse were invited to join a panel helping to appoint a chair and establish the inquiry's terms of reference. Five have since resigned, alleging the government attempted to weaken the inquiry's focus beyond street-based organised exploitation. These individuals have said they will only return if Phillips steps down.
One of those who quit, Ellie-Ann Reynolds, appeared alongside Farage at Monday's press conference, saying the process had become "less about the truth and more about a cover-up".
The five women supporting Phillips argued that restricting the inquiry solely to street-based exploitation would exclude victims whose group-based abuse began through online contact, peers or family members.
Two of the women have published memoirs about their experiences of predominantly Asian organised abuse networks under pseudonyms. Two others said they were unable to share details "through fear of their safety" but insisted they were victims of "traditional" organised exploitation.
Reform MP Lee Anderson said the party would "need to have a proper, grown-up, adult conversation" with the women about their experiences, adding: "With regards to what Nigel has said, that's up to Nigel. We will speak to him later about that."
Reform UK has been approached for comment.
