Rapists Who Father Children Should Be Denied Parental Rights: Grooming Scandal Survivor

A teenage girl, who says she was a victim of sexual abuse and alleged grooming, in Rotherham, England, on Sept. 3, 2014. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Rapists who conceive children through acts of sexual violence should be denied parental rights, and specialist support services must be strengthened to provide comprehensive care for survivors and their children, a leading advocate against child sexual abuse has asserted.

Activist Sammy Woodhouse was a victim of the Rotherham grooming scandal. She was just 14 when she was forced to terminate a pregnancy and subsequently got pregnant again at 15 by her groomer, Arshid Hussain, who was 25 at the time.

She gave birth to her son, who is now 23 years old, at the age of 16, and has spent many years exposing her abuser and campaigning for the rights of victims and their children.

In 2015, Woodhouse testified against Hussain in court, who was convicted of 23 charges against nine victims and sentenced to 35 years in prison.

At the time, her son was not recognised as a victim under existing UK law. Changes to legislation were adopted under the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, under which individuals conceived through rape are recognised as victims of crime in England and Wales. This aims to entitle them to additional support, including therapy, counselling, and access to pertinent information about their case.

To date, the legislation is pending implementation, while advocates continue to call for more comprehensive legal reforms.

Woodhouse told The Epoch Times the government is neglecting the safeguarding issue by not adopting laws that would bar rapists from contacting children conceived through their crime.

“The argument is that a man has a right to a family life alongside other human rights. What they are completely neglecting is the safeguarding issue in all of this—for the children and the victims.

“Children born from rape isn’t up there as a priority just yet,” she said.

Mothers are automatically granted parental rights and responsibilities at the birth of their child, while fathers acquire it if married to the mother or named on the child’s birth certificate. In other cases, it can be granted through a court order.

Current law allows fathers, including those of children conceived through rape, to apply for parental responsibility and seek access to the child.

In cases where attackers have legal access to their children, the psychological and emotional impact is “absolutely devastating,” Woodhouse said, adding: “Imagine that a man that has put you through the worst abuse and torture that one can do to a woman and a child, gets contact to full custody of that child. It’s just barbaric.

“They should be stripped of their parental rights and research is needed to educate specialists who are meant to provide social and legal support to the victims,” said the campaigner.

Grooming Scandal Under Scrutiny

Woodhouse’s call comes amid ongoing scrutiny of the historical handling of the grooming gangs scandal, which revealed widespread child sexual exploitation by organised groups of men.

Major cases in towns such as Rotherham, Rochdale, and Telford exposed systemic failures in policing, social services, and safeguarding practices.

The Conservative Party has been pushing for a new national inquiry into the grooming scandal, but Labour has argued that local inquiries would be more effective.

Sammy Woodhouse with her son in an undated family photo. Courtesy of Sammy Woodhouse

Woodhouse criticised the politicisation of the issue, arguing the focus should be on the safeguarding of children rather than party politics.

“What politicians need to do is put this at the forefront and get the law changed. It’s as simple as that,” she added.

Last week, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced a series of local reviews into grooming gangs and ordered a three-month rapid review of the “current scale and nature of gang-based exploitation across the country.”

Labour MP Natalie Fleet, who previously disclosed she became pregnant at the age of 15 after being “groomed” by an older man, welcomed the announcement but pressed for more action.

“Giving birth as a result of grooming is a story that far too many of us share. There are so many reasons why children and the women that they grow into do not speak out,” Fleet told MPs, calling for changes in the law.

Cooper said family courts should not be “used by abusers and rapists to persecute victims” and agreed to meet Fleet to discuss the issue further.

Woodhouse has acknowledged Fleet’s statements on the issue, which she believes are not prioritised by the government.

“These politicians have been meeting with us and our children and talking to us since 2018. Why do you need to keep wheeling out children born from rape? They know about the harm that’s being caused. We’ve proven it. They need to just get on and do with it,” she said.

‘Massive Problem’

A study by the Centre for Women’s Justice (CWJ) has estimated that potentially thousands of children are being conceived in rape each year. Figures released in 2022 suggested that between 2,080 and 3,356 children could have been conceived in rape within a single year in England and Wales alone.

The CWJ study also noted lack of research and data examining the prevalence of “rape conception” and the impact on mothers and children.

Woodhouse said abuse and exploitation are a “massive problem” in the UK, affecting “every town and city in this country.”

“I know that because I work all over the country. I talk to survivors from everywhere,” she added.

Sammy Woodhouse with her son in an undated family photo. Courtesy of Sammy Woodhouse

The Labour government has pledged to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.

To strengthen domestic abuse victim safeguards, the government is piloting new protection notices and orders, including measures such as electronic tagging of abusers and court-enforced conditions.

In December, the Crown Prosecution Service launched measures to support victims of rape and serious sexual offences to address delays in the criminal justice system. These include offering pre-trial meetings, appointing dedicated victim liaison officers, and providing training for staff to improve victim interactions.

Additionally, Labour plans to fast-track rape cases to combat low conviction rates and address delays that deter victims from pursuing justice.

Support Measures and Awareness

According to Woodhouse, existing measures don’t address the needs of victims of grooming and children born from rape. Government departments are deferring responsibility to underfunded charities that are ill-equipped to provide necessary support, she said.

“There’s not one organisation in our country that focuses on this, not one. I had to travel to Rwanda to a charity to see how they were to try and bring it into place here,” she said, adding that her funding bid for a dedicated project was ultimately rejected by the police and crime commissioner for South Yorkshire.

While not specific to children born from rape, charities including the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and Rape Crisis England & Wales offer support to sexual violence and abuse victims.

Woodhouse called for “every single service in this country” to be trained to support the needs of children born from rape.

“It’s not seen as a big enough agenda,” she said, underscoring the need for urgent and systemic change to support vulnerable families.

Woodhouse also addressed the stigma surrounding children born from rape, noting that early public reactions were often negative, but awareness is gradually improving thanks to the work of campaigners.

“What people need to understand is my son isn’t a child of a rapist. He’s my son, and he’s nothing like his dad, and I think that perception is now changing,” she said.