New Zealander heads to London for child sex abuse inquiry

Justice Lowell Goddard

"The New Zealander heading to London to head a mammoth sex-abuse inquiry is vowing to keep survivors at the heart of the investigation."

"Sparked by sex-abuse complaints laid against British television celebrity Jimmy Savile, Justice Lowell Goddard's job is set to take more than four years as she heads a panel looking to find ways to improve the way complaints are handled."

"She has been handpicked for one of England's most daunting legal challenges. But, while she has spent time in London before, the old country has not always been so welcoming."

"In the early 1990s, while she was there for a conference, colleagues remember returning late one night to the club where she and other New Zealanders were staying, and wanting to have a nightcap."

"As they approached the only bar open, a scandalised local pointed to a sign saying, "Gentlemen Only", and asked Goddard if she could read."

"Yes, I can. How quaint," she replied, and breezed in with the others to get their drinks."

"In the next couple of weeks, she will return to England to head a huge inquiry into child-sexual abuse that will last for years, and has no end in sight."

"Even its interim report is not due until the end of 2018."

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/67609262/justice-lowell-goddard-aims-to-bring-truth-and-justice-to-uk-sex-abuse-inquiry

See also http://researchingreform.net/2015/04/05/child-abuse-inquiry-chair-under-fire-for-marginalising-victims-of-abuse/