Maggie Oliver charity helping sex abuse victims in office appeal

A charity which supports survivors of sexual abuse has appealed for help to find a base where it can operate for free in Manchester.

Maggie Oliver, a detective who resigned from Greater Manchester Police over the way grooming cases in Rochdale were handled, launched the charity in 2019.

The Maggie Oliver Foundation was set up to support victims of grooming gangs.

Ms Oliver said it was "really changing lives" but demand was so great it now "desperately" needs a base.

She hopes to open the first centre dedicated to girls and women who are victims of sexual violence and exploitation.

The foundation said it aimed to help survivors transform the pain of their abuse into power by providing a legal advocacy service for victims who report crimes to the police, give emotional support with positive coping strategies and increase self-confidence.

It said it has a team of more than 30 volunteers and three members of staff, with two more to follow soon, and it has helped more than 2,500 survivors of abuse.

Ms Oliver said: "We really are changing lives.

"We are trying to put pressure on police forces and authorities to treat victims better and ensure they are being heard and not fobbed off.

"We are all working from our own homes but we have got to the point where we desperately need a base, an office in Manchester we could work from, for six to 12 months for free, and I'm hoping and praying that somebody will help us out."

Ms Oliver said: "We don't need anything fancy, but it can't be open plan because of the nature of some of the conversations we have."

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