As many as one in every 20 children in England and Wales may have been sexually abused, according to the head of the independent inquiry into historical abuse.
But the true figures "may be worse" because of systematic "under-recording and mis-recording" by police, Justice Lowell Goddard warned.
Officially launching her inquiry today, the New Zealand High Court judge said although generations of abuse had left "scars" on victims and society, her inquiry "provides an opportunity to expose past failures of institutions to protect children".
Justice Goddard warned abusers that she will not shy away from investigating abuse in Westminster's "corridors of power" or naming any VIPs involved. Every government department, public body and 18 religious groups have been ordered not to shred or destroy any documents which may be relevant to her work. (more...)
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