The former Greater Manchester Police detective, Maggie Oliver, who resigned her job in disgust over its neglect in handling the grooming scandal of young girls in Rochdale, won the 2024 Contrarian Prize.
Oliver resigned from the police in 2012 having battled for 18 months to raise her concerns internally without success. She then established a foundation and dedicated her life to supporting the victims.
A report commissioned by the Mayor of Greater Manchester published in January 2024 covering the period 2004 to 2013 set out multiple failed investigations by the police and apparent indifference to the plight of mainly white girls from poor backgrounds. Oliver stated that young people were still being abused in the town and that victims were living in fear in fear as abusers walk the streets and a number defy court orders to return to Pakistan.
Maggie Oliver - biography
Maggie Oliver is the “Detective turned Whistleblower” who resigned from Greater Manchester Police in late 2012 in order to expose the now infamous Rochdale Grooming Scandal.
She is the founder of the Maggie Oliver Foundation which exists to create a society where survivors and those at risk of childhood sexual abuse and exploitation are empowered to live fulfilled and successful lives, and where every survivor is treated with dignity, respect and as an equal and valued member of society.
