Making a disclosure

Anybody who would like to give information or make disclosures about church-related abuse in the Diocese of London can contact the Diocesan Safeguarding Team on 020 3837 1224 or safeguarding@london.anglican.org

Information can also be submitted to the safeguarding team via this online concern form.

Listening to your experiences and suggestions helps us recommend changes to protect everyone from abuse, now and in the future

Church of England Responding Well to Victims and Survivors

This policy sets out the requirements and good practice advice for Church Bodies on developing healthy cultures, which prevent harm from taking place and ensure disclosures can be made safely when harm does occur. Importantly, it also outlines requirements and good practice advice for Church Bodies on the support that should be put in place for victims and survivors of church-related abuse within the Church of England.

The videos linked below summarise the content of the guidance. The first video provides an “Introduction” for all and the third video is addressed to all members of the Church who may witness abuse or receive disclosures of abuse, providing advice on how to respond well. The second and fourth videos are designed for victims and survivors of abuse and provide information on how to report abuse within the Church of England and the support options available to victims and survivors of church-related abuse:

There is more information on the Church of England Responding Well to Victims and Survivors webpages here.

National Survivor Participation Framework

The Church of England is committed to implementing the principles and different types of survivor participation, to ensure victims and survivors are involved in inclusive, trauma-informed, and impactful safeguarding activities and developments, in alignment with the Quality Assurance Framework and the National Safeguarding Standard 4.1. As the audits are standardised and expected to be expanded in the coming years, the framework contributes to consistency and quality of participatory practices with survivors across the Church.

You can read more about this on their website here.

Visit the Truth Project

PCR2

PCR2 stands for ‘Past Cases Review 2’ and was a large-scale independent review of the handling by the Church of safeguarding cases over many years. It involved a scrutiny of clergy and church officers’ files to identify persons presenting on-going risks to children, adults at risk of harm and domestic abuse and also sought to identify those cases which had not been acted upon appropriately.

The PCR2 had a key focus on listening to survivors who wanted to come forward. The Church was criticised for not including their voices in the original PCR in 2007 so it was important for us to get this right. Consultation with and advice from survivors of abuse within the church, alongside advice from trauma-informed professionals, was central to the discharge of PCR2.

Within the Diocese of London, we worked in partnership with two survivor organisations; NAPAC and Victim Support to offer support to anyone who had previously experienced any church related abuse. We developed our survivor strategy, which will be added to and strengthened.

Read more about our PCR2

Safe spaces

An independent service supporting survivors of church-related abuse

Launched in September 2020, Safe Spaces is a free and independent support service for anyone who has experienced abuse in relation to the Church of England, the Church in Wales, or the Catholic Church of England and Wales. This could be abuse by someone who holds any role in the church or is linked to participating in a church-led activity or group.

Although the churches have funded the service, it is run independently by the charity Victim Support, who are one of the leading charities providing specialist support to survivors of abuse in England and Wales.

If you have been affected, however long ago, Safe Spaces can provide you with support. You do not have to have told the police or the church authorities, and you do not have to still be involved with the church. Your information will not be shared without your consent, unless you or someone else is in immediate danger.

 

Getting help from other organisations

A fuller list of organisations offering support to survivors, including therapy and counselling resources, helplines and self-help resources, is available to download.