Child Sexual Exploitation After Rotherham Understanding the Consequences and Recommendations for Practice By Adele Gladman and Angie Heal Summary (Page 62-63) While this book is about learning the lessons for the victims ,and survivors of organised child sexual abuse in Rotherham, this opening chapter demonstrates there have been other very significant repercussions which have emerged as a consequence of the catastrophic statutory agency failings in the town. The public loss of confidence and the damage to the reputation of Rotherham by those employed and elected to serve the people of the town are immeasurable. It may have been inaction at its best, or wilful neglect and corruption at its worst. Only when all the inquiries and investigations are completed will we have any chance of really understanding what happened. The distress, anxiety anger, frustration and damage to personal self-confidence and professional morale, which will have undoubtedly been suffered by victims, survivors, families, professionals, the Pakistani community and the people of Rotherham as a whole, are unfathomable. In her 2003 report, Angie (Heal) quoted from Lord Laming’s report into the murder of Victoria Climbié, another pivotal moment in the history of child protection in England. In an effort to gird senior officers into action, she drew on the most important and influential report of the time: I strongly believe that in future those who occupy senior positions in the public sector must be responsible to account for any failure to protect vulnerable children from deliberate harm or exploitation. (Laming, 2003: 1.27, cited in Heal, 2003, p.54) Unfortunately in the case of Rotherham, it took another 11 years for senior officers and officials to be questioned about the failure to protect children from deliberate and organised child sexual abuse; some of whom were more than a little reluctant. This chapter evidences the mass fall-out from their woeful professional behaviour and touches on the impact this has had on so many lives. It should not have occurred. It did not need to happen. It was all so unnecessary If only people in senior positions had listened and acted.