As there is still a lot of reaction to the Home Office's grooming gang 'characteristics' report, I'm sharing what one survivor told me

She is from a Muslim background and mixed-race, and was abused by men who she described as Asian

She described how she regularly saw protests, speeches and "people’s comments like ‘why do they always abuse white girls?’"

"I come from a dual heritage background, I’m mixed race," she said

"Then you’ve got people who are ranting about white girls - it’s understandable, any...

"... race shouldn’t be abused but understand the bigger picture - you’re not in the courtroom, you’re not seeing the colour of that skin behind that curtain ... you’ve got people that just have such a small deceitful opinion on things and bring it all down to race and religion."

She said the men who abused her, who were mainly Muslim, "didn’t bring religion up" during the abuse

"But when it came to court that’s what they tried to use as their defence, that they were practicing people and they wouldn’t drink or take drugs."

Purported religious beliefs have been a feature of abuse in other grooming cases

I was told of one victim who was “read statements from the Quran” while being raped and was made to eat halal,while a prolific offender wanted to make another victim his second wife under Sharia law

Supposed religiousness has also been used as a defence or mitigation in several cases, where men have denied drink/drugs/parties or extra-marital sex

I sat in one trial where groomers claimed the abuse was a result of their arranged marriages and stringent social codes

Submissions like that have helped reinforce the link claimed by some between grooming gangs and Islam - but there is no reason to believe these men's claims

Their behaviour and crimes belie their supposed faith, they are abusers, criminals and liars

Religion is used a defence by sex abusers across the board, including by Christian priests

All grooming cases must be treated individually, and offenders' claims must be met with scepticism

Sterotyping and cherry-picking to reinforce narratives will not help prevent this abuse