Testimonials

“Maggie Oliver showed the courage to speak up for vulnerable children when it would have been easier to stay silent. Her work since then has given survivors a voice and society a chance to do better”

I had the privilege of working with Maggie Oliver during our time in policing, and I saw first-hand the courage and determination that have come to define her work. Challenging powerful institutions is never easy, especially where established practices are difficult to question. Yet Maggie did exactly that when she spoke out about the protection of vulnerable children. It would have been far easier to remain silent, but that has never been Maggie’s way.

What she has achieved since leaving policing is equally remarkable. Through the Maggie Oliver Foundation she has turned personal conviction into practical support for the survivors of child sexual exploitation, many of whom felt they had nowhere else to turn. At the same time, she has continued to campaign for reform, ensuring that survivors’ voices are heard in national debates about safeguarding and justice.

Campaigning on such painful issues can be lonely work, yet Maggie has shown extraordinary resilience while building a community of support around survivors and their families. The Foundation is now making a real difference to people’s lives.

Work of this importance cannot continue without support. I hope people will consider standing behind Maggie Oliver and her Foundation through donations, advocacy, and support for the important legal work currently underway so that this is vital mission to protect children and support survivors can continue.

Maggie Oliver delivered an incredibly powerful talk to our first-year Sociology and Criminology students. She spoke honestly about the challenges of policing, the emotional weight of supporting survivors, and what it means to fight for justice when institutions fall short. Her openness and courage held the room completely, with 400+ students fully engaged with her journey.

The impact was immediate as many students reflected on Maggie’s talk and were encouraged by her words to value bravery and maintain integrity, with many taking to LinkedIn to share their insights. A large number even signed up to volunteer with The Maggie Oliver Foundation because they were so inspired by Maggie’s work!

We are genuinely grateful for the time she gave, the care she showed, and the example she sets. Her visit made a real impression on this cohort, and we’d welcome her back in a heartbeat.

I have been running a literary festival, Northwich LitFest, ever since I started it 14 years ago. Each year we have approximately 10 events and I can honestly say that Maggie Oliver was one of the best speakers we have ever had. She is definitely the most popular too – tickets for her event were sold out within days of advertising, which has never happened with our festival before.

Maggie is a former GMP detective constable, known for her relentless fight against child sex exploitation. She exposed her own force’s poor handling of the Rochdale child sex abuse ring case, spoke her truth, and in 2012 resigned from the police.

Since then Maggie has continued her fight for justice for victims of sexual abuse, working tirelessly, ‘giving the victims a voice’. Maggie Oliver is utterly amazing, completely selfless, and as a speaker she is second to none. I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending her to speak at any event.

Wow! We have had many remarkable speakers over the years at the Lansdowne, and Maggie is right up there with the very best of them!

Passionate, frank, forthright and as we saw, when people get to hear what really went on, from somebody who was there, it really hits home and only then, do they truly believe the unbelievable.

The whole room was visibly moved and affected by what they heard.

If you can have Maggie, come and speak about her experiences and The Maggie Oliver Foundation, do it, you owe it to your community.

Maggie it was such a pleasure to hear your story and after 280+ 'Eventful Lives' episodes I've filmed, that was one of the most eye opening and shocking episodes I've ever done.

You are such a special human with a massive heart and I can't wait for millions of people to hear your story.

I have so much respect for you.

Maggie Oliver was nothing short of extraordinary as our keynote speaker at the pro-manchester International Women’s Day Lunch. She spoke with power, authenticity, and passion, captivating the room from start to finish. Her story of courage and resilience led to several spontaneous rounds of applause and a standing ovation—a true testament to the impact she had on every single person in the room.

Her ability to share such raw, emotional, and deeply important truths while inspiring hope and action is rare and invaluable. Delegates described her as a "true angel on earth," a "powerhouse", and an "incredible advocate for survivors". Many left feeling empowered, emotional, and driven to create change—a mark of a truly exceptional speaker.

Maggie, thank you for your courage, your voice, and your unwavering fight for justice—you don’t just share a story, you inspire action.

We had the honour of hosting Maggie Oliver at our recent event, Survivors Speak, and I can confidently say that her presentation was nothing short of outstanding. From the moment she took the stage, she captivated the audience with her engaging storytelling, expertise and insightful perspectives. Maggie skilfully addressed the complex and sensitive topics of sexual abuse and grooming in a way that was both accessible and thought-provoking, leaving everyone inspired and eager to learn more.

Her ability to connect with the audience and share her experiences, both whilst within and since leaving the police, was truly remarkable. We’ve received lots of positive feedback from attendees, and it’s clear that Maggie made this event a resounding success. We are incredibly grateful for her contribution to the voice against VAWG, the challenge she lays down to authorities is truly awe-inspiring. We would absolutely recommend her to anyone looking for an exceptional speaker!

Maggie’s riveting book, Survivors, is the story about Maggie’s life, how she got into child sex investigations, Operation Augusta and then Operation Span, how this all went horribly wrong, and what happened next.

It is a gripping account not only of a principled public servant, but how a woman and a mother tackles really nasty offending, like sexual abuse. When she presented all this at Dartington’s Ways with Words, the audience was so inspired that it gave her a standing ovation.

We owe Maggie Oliver a great debt for blowing the whistle about police failures and mal-practice at Greater Manchester Police in relation to the investigation of child sexual exploitation by grooming gangs. She showed great skill, compassion and commitment working with two key victims, very badly damaged young women who had been failed by authorities and had no trust in the police.

Through patience and compassion, she enabled the provision of critical evidence that led to the prosecution and convictions of a number of perpetrators.

We first became aware of Maggie’s involvement with the young girls in Rochdale via her friend Jacqui Stewart who is a highly respected activist within the Communication Workers Union.

Initially, we were looking to invite Maggie to one of our quarterly Regional Women’s Committee meetings but then we decided to run an event centred around women who were actively involved with local issues or who were changing things within their own arenas. We titled it ‘Women of Today’.

At CIPFA’s Annual Conference, which attracts over 800 delegates from the public service world, Maggie delivered two great sessions on governance and the importance of taking an ethical stand in public service provision.

She is a thoroughly engaging speaker and spoke with honesty and conviction about the human cost of governance failures.

From the feedback we received after our session, it is clear that Maggie’s moving story pushed our delegates to do more, and to do better.

I first met Maggie Oliver on 24 April 2013. I head one of the country’s leading teams of lawyers handling child abuse cases and have been working in this area for over 20 years.

When Maggie came into my office she had a bundle of papers and an accompanying story which was hard to believe.

Maggie had been a senior Police Officer who was so appalled at the treatment of abuse victims in Rochdale that she had resigned. She had since worked tirelessly to secure justice for these victims.

Maggie spoke on the topic of ‘Exploitation: who is responsible?’ to an audience of 300 young leaders from around the world at One Young World London 2019.

She emphasised the individual’s responsibility to call out exploitation and take action by sharing her challenging and inspirational story. The audience were enthralled by what Maggie had to do to achieve justice for the victims of the Rochdale scandal.

Maggie was one of the keynote speakers at the student-led conference One Young World Bath held at the University of Bath in March 2020. Her keynote was one of the highlights of the day; she was so warm and friendly with the students who all adored her! Maggie’s belief in social justice and the way in which she has brought attention to the plight of young female victims of sexual violence resonated with the student audience. Her messages around standing up to injustice and entrenched, unequal power inspired everyone who attended. We hope that we can continue to work with Maggie and her amazing Foundation and Centre and look forward to welcoming her back to Bath.

This service that the foundation are working to put together and ensure it meets the needs of people who have been abused is an absolute must. Actually …it’s more than a must As a safeguarding instructor and trainer in early years I am seeing time and time again children being subjected to abuse which affects their whole being.

The country is crying out for this service and needs the support and funding to get it off the ground as it will be constantly in demand .. there is so much proof for that.

Many of our clients are have been impacted by new allegations in light of recent publicity in this area, and our work includes investigating and advising on the circumstances in which abuse occurred, as well as working with our clients and claimant representatives to resolve claims arising from abuse.

We had great feedback from the forum “Interesting, informative and engaging,” “Interesting to hear a variety of perspectives,” “Well presented day with a wide variety covered and very interesting speakers with a number of backgrounds with different perspectives”. Maggie added the “human touch” to the day and hopefully gave some food for thought for the delegate to take away with them.

I was thrilled when Maggie agreed to speak at the English Rugby Football Leagues 12th annual Safeguarding Conference.

Maggie was the first guest speaker of the day and one of the most awaited guest speakers we have ever had. You could hear the passion and dedication as she told her story and how she continues to work with and support the victims is commendable.

The feedback we have received from those who attended has been unbelievable. As this year’s event was virtual due to COVID, we really hope Maggie will be able to attend one of our future conferences and meet those responsible for Safeguarding throughout Rugby League in person.

The Federation of Guernsey WI invited Maggie Oliver to speak at its Annual General Meeting in 2025. This meeting is a popular part of the WI calendar and Maggie’s attendance generated HUGE interest and support from our members, with a record 120 members attending on the day (20% up on the previous year).

As a registered charity which advocates for the rights of women, Maggie’s experiences, bravery in standing up against senior colleagues in the UK police service on behalf of underage victims of sexual crimes, was an inspiration to us all.

Thank you for the person you are and the valuable work you do Maggie. Your standing ovation was well deserved and I can highly recommend you as a speaker for other events.