Sammy Woodhouse

Sammy Woodhouse (born 20 June 1985) is a political commentator and an activist against child sexual abuse. She is often credited as being an important part of the exposure of the grooming gangs in Rotherham, after giving an anonymous interview about her experiences to Andrew Norfolk of The Times. Woodhouse has actively supported pardoning child sexual abuse victims for crimes they were coerced into committing.

Personal life Sammy Woodhouse grew up with her two older sisters in Rotherham. Her family had a caravan in Cleethorpes. Woodhouse competed with her dance team until it was disbanded.

Woodhouse kept being abused for years, including an assault by Hussain in public, which was dismissed by the police, and her flat was set on fire. Her family members had to move because they were also continuously threatened and terrorized. When she understood in 2012 that she had been groomed, Woodhouse developed depression, suicidal thoughts, and an eating disorder.

Woodhouse anonymously approached The Times in 2013, leading to the Jay inquiry, which played a crucial part in exposing the scale and nature of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham. The report by social worker Alexis Jay found that more than 1,400 children were victims of child sexual abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.

In March 2017, Woodhouse revealed her name on a BBC programme.

Activism Woodhouse conducts speaking events at schools and elsewhere, explaining to teenagers, the police and social workers how to recognise that someone is being groomed.

According to Woodhouse, Rotherham Council invited Hussain to meet their son despite his conviction for rape.

Woodhouse has recently become a member of the right-wing political party Restore Britain.

Sammy's Law Woodhouse supports Sammy's Law, a bill named after her, which would pardon child sexual abuse victims for crimes they were coerced into committing; the bill would also remove the crimes committed by the children from their criminal records. The bill was supported by Vera Baird, the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, by Alan Billings, the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, by Anne Longfield, the Children's Commissioner for England, and by Simon Bailey, the Chief Constable of the Norfolk Constabulary, among several other chief constables and crime commissioners. Woodhouse has met with Conservative MP Victoria Atkins. In 2018, a High Court action was won by Woodhouse and two other women with juvenile offence records that are provided by the Disclosure and Barring Service. They were represented by solicitor Harriet Wistrich. In 2019, the government said that it would appeal the decision. According to Woodhouse, the government has "done nothing" to tackle the issue.