PETITIONClosedPetition · petition.parliament.uk
Do not describe sexual abuse of children as "grooming" by "grooming gangs"
I want the Government and Parliament to stop using the words "grooming" and "grooming gangs". I feel they are euphemisms being used in official publications to describe horrible, violent sexual abuse of children including rape, torture, kidnapping and imprisonment.
Last fetched 03 May 2026 · petition.parliament.uk
Signatures
241
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 241/10,000
Debate threshold (100,000) · 241/100,000
Background
I think that the use of euphemisms to describe criminal offences does considerable harm. A 12-year-old child who has been raped may not think she has been "groomed".