The following comments were sent as part of a pre-publication communication to David McWilliams (Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council) on 25 January 2015: NWG (National Working Group) CEO Sheila Taylor – 21 January 2015 Thank you very much for sharing this, at first glance it looks very powerful! We fully support the voice of victims and survivors being heard, and have included my participation officer in looking at this draft. Once we have fully read it (I hope to read it on the train down to Sussex today) well come back to you. I was extremely pleased to read that you had included Jason and David in ensuring no one is compromised by the publication. And the next day, Thursday 22 January 2015 Having read this through I am impressed with documents ability to demonstrate a wide range of methods that have been used to exploit young people, both boys and girls and the understanding that whilst there may be elements of racism in individuals, it is adults abusing - the one line in a narrative that made such an impact with me was “yes they might have been Muslim and Mirpuri but when they raped me it was the man that raped me”. There are many mentions of positive engagement across the sectors and is very similar to our messaging of 'this is adults abusing children and they come from a wide range of social backgrounds’. We also hear the voice of those from a range of social backgrounds too. I would like to discuss how we can get this out to wider audiences as I believe it is very important for professionals to hear the voice of young people and parents … Note Sheila’s reference to David (David McWilliams) and Jason (Jason Harwin, Chief Superintendent Rotherham District Commander). Sarah Champion (Labour MP Rotherham) - Tuesday 20 January 2015 I really admire you for doing this and I think the voices of the victims and survivors are just so powerful. … Well done for what you have achieved. Kindest regards Sarah Lord Nazir Ahmed - Wednesday 21 January 2015 Thank you for forwarding me the publication which you intend to publish. It is a great effort on your part to not only highlight the victims’ experiences but also provide ways of how we as a society should be listening more and act more robustly to try and repair the lives of so many innocents. Please don't hesitate to contact me if I can be of any assistance. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Notes 1 Before publishing the full communication sent by David McWilliams (on 15.9.15) about the so-called “independent, expert guidance” the Rotherham Truth Campaign will begin to set the context. The information above is an important part of the context before publication. 2 Voices of Despair Voices of Hope is a 40 page publication of the voices of victims, survivors, their family members and others adversely and directly affected by CSE in Rotherham. Background information about Voices of Despair Voices of Hope can be found here: http://real2.org/voices-of-despair-voices-of-hope-28-february-2015/ 3 Page 40 of Voices of Despair, Voices is titled: “A Reflection – Diversity is a great richness” Page 40 is available here as a pdf: http://real2.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Diversity-is-a-great-richness-Voices-of-Despair-Voices-of-Hope-Page-40.pdf It was written on Sunday 15 February 2015 and begins: “During January there were real signs of hope that at long last, significant steps were being taken within Rotherham to deal with both: the legacy of and the reality of CSE, in order to ensure a better future. Chrissy Meleady and I had arranged two meetings: one in Rotherham on Wednesday 4th and one in Derby on Thursday 5th February. We hoped to then send “Voices of Despair, Voices of Hope” to our printer on Friday 6th February. The Inspection Report by Louise Casey was made public on Wednesday 4 February. The follow-up to the Inspection has been dramatic and unprecedented. The future has become very uncertain.” The meeting planned for 4 February was with David McWilliams, but at the last minute we were informed that David was off ill. The meeting planned for Thursday 5th February in Derby was with Sheila Taylor CEO NWG (National Working Group) and was cancelled due to the publication of the Inspection Report by Louise Casey on 4th February.