• UK police will record the ethnicity of gangs involved in organized child sexual abuse.
• The report highlights a significant over-representation of Asian men among perpetrators.
• Concerns over racism have led to systematic failures in addressing the issue.
• Government to implement a national inquiry and track identified cases.
• Recommendations call for mandatory reporting of perpetrators' ethnicity.

The UK government has announced that police will be required to document the ethnicity of those involved in organized child sexual abuse, following a critical report detailing state inefficiencies and a reluctance to acknowledge the "over-representation" of Asian men in grooming gangs. For approximately 15 years, Britain has faced a surge of child exploitation cases, which has turned into a contentious political debate marked by fears of accusations of racism hampering effective law enforcement, according to South China Morning Post, Dawn, Reuters, and India Times.

The audit led by Baroness Casey found that data from three police areas indicated "clear evidence of over-representation among suspects of Asian and Pakistani heritage men". Alarmingly, in about two-thirds of sexual exploitation cases, no ethnic data was collected. The report emphasized that ongoing reviews and inquiries have inadequately addressed the ethnicity of those behind the abuse, often fearfully dodging the issue due to the risk of sounding racist, according to South China Morning Post, Dawn, Reuters, and India Times.

In light of the report, Interior Minister Yvette Cooper acknowledged that "there has been too much reliance on flawed data" and apologized for the neglect of victims. The government has consented to launch a national inquiry into grooming gangs and will review over 800 cases, a figure that is expected to rise, affirming the necessity of addressing the gaps in data collection as highlighted by the Casey Report, according to South China Morning Post, Dawn, Reuters, and India Times.

The report also indicated that there are significant concerns relating to cultural factors affecting child exploitation, suggesting that women from various backgrounds, including Sikh and Hindu communities, are particularly vulnerable, with some being specifically targeted given their perceived reluctance to report abuse due to societal stigmas. This has raised calls for a broader understanding of the cultural dynamics at play and ensuring that all aspects of the issue are openly examined, echoing sentiments across South China Morning Post, Dawn, Reuters, and India Times.