Inquiry will ‘get at the truth’ but Goddard warns on abuse under-reporting
The sexual abuse of children has left “scars” on victims and society, the chair of the long-awaited independent inquiry into historical abuse has said.
Judge Lowell Goddard, formally opening the probe, said the inquiry “provides an opportunity to expose past failures of institutions to protect children”.
She added: “The task ahead of us is daunting.”
The inquiry was set up last year amid claims of an establishment cover-up following allegations that a paedophile ring operated in Westminster in the 1980s.
However, it has been beset by delays and controversies since it was first announced by Home Secretary Theresa May last July.
Justice Goddard, a New Zealand high court judge, was appointed to lead the inquiry following the resignation of two previous chairwomen.
Justice Goddard said: “The sexual abuse of children over successive generations has left permanent scars, not only on the victims, but on society as a whole.”
“This inquiry provides a unique opportunity to expose past failures of institutions to protect children.”
Justice Goddard told the inquiry that there were suggestions that “one child in every 20 children in England and Wales has been sexually abused”.
She added that there were indications that there may have been systematic “under-recording and mis-recording” of child sex abuse by the police and other agencies.
Justice Goddard said: “The true figures may be worse than the official figures estimate.”
The inquiry, she said, will require “complete objectivity” and a commitment to being open-minded “without any pre-judgment” of victims.
It will be the largest and most ambitious public inquiry ever established in England and Wales, she said, adding: “We have the tools we need to get at the truth and we will not hesitate to use them.”
Justice Goddard also allayed fears that the inquiry may be conducted behind closed doors or not fully release material.
She said: “I am determined to put as much information into the public as I possibly can, as soon as I possibly can.”
As Justice Goddard was giving her statement, Attorney General Jeremy Wright QC confirmed that individuals providing certain evidence to the inquiry can do so without fear of prosecution.
Immunity from prosecution under the Official Secrets Act will be offered to current or former public servants who are prepared to testify about allegations of child sex abuse to the independent public inquiry, his office said.
It will also protect individuals who are in possession of evidence relating to the inquiry which they may be holding unlawfully.
It will not protect anyone who admits taking part in child sexual abuse, however.
Justice Goddard said that it was a “stark reality” that some people had abused their positions of trust within institutions as a means of gaining “unfettered access” to children.
As a result, she said, the inquiry would travel “from the corridors of power in Westminster” to encompass a wide range of bodies across England and Wales, from children’s homes and hospitals to the police, media and Armed Forces, and “may have to challenge powerful private institutions”.
She said the inquiry would put “difficult questions” to everyone from politicians and bishops to head teachers.
While “history” will be an important part of the inquiry’s work, it will not be simply a “historical report”.
Instead, it will provide an “enduring legacy for future generations”, Justice Goddard added.
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