abuse
e As someone who has walked alongside victims of historic abuse, continuing raising safeguarding standards is paramount.
Until recently worked as the National Programme Manager for Mothers’ Union developing the work MU does on modern slavery, domestic abuse and prison work.
I was involved in some of the early iterations of Youth Alpha, pioneered night club chaplaincy, worked with young women at risk of abuse, worked ecumenically on outreach events and helped the churches I have led to grow in confidence.
Listening to the voices of survivors of church based abuse has had a profound impact on my ministry in recent years and I believe must continue to shape policy and practice across every area of church life Recognising the good changes that have been made in recent years whilst never being complacent and being open to continued learning Grassroots parish mission
Safeguarding issues, and the effects of abuse, were very common features of my professional caseload.
At times it has been a rollercoaster, but I have tried to be faithful in responding to victims and survivors of church-based abuse, not least as a trustee of Safe Spaces, the telephone support service for victims and survivors of church-based abuse and as a member of the National Redress Project Board and the National Safeguarding Steering Group.
Among my own friends and family are people who have turned away from faith because they could not reconcile the message of God's love with experiences of exclusion, abuse, judgement and rejection within the Church.
This can lead to victims and survivors of abuse finding that justice is elusive and the process of seeking it causes further trauma.
Ensuring that the pain suffered by survivors of abuse is properly recognised with compassion and understanding and support
Survivors of abuse are still let down by the Church’s bureaucracy and have not received the generous pastoral care or compensation they deserve.
We must continue to do all we can to ensure that our churches are safe places, where abuse is taken seriously, victims and survivors are heard and supported, and those in positions of authority are properly accountable.
I am the safeguarding lead for ERMC and in this capacity I have tried to listen to survivors of abuse.
AI-generated abuse images and chatbots are new routes to harm, and dioceses are already deciding which platforms they can be present on at all.
The Crime and Policing Act 2026 creates a duty of mandatory reporting of abuse, but this only applies to regulated activities.
02 SAFEGUARDING As a member of the St John’s Safeguarding Team, I recognise the importance of upholding safeguarding, listening to survivors and putting in place effective measures to prevent abuse.
I have seen for myself how due process can prevent the abuse of power and protects minorities and the vulnerable.
The church has done a lot of catching up on safeguarding at all levels, and more is needed to keep up with national safeguarding requirements and to support survivors of abuse, but we need to ensure that all proposals are workable and not overly burdensome for those in ministry so that we can effectively make the church a safe place for all.
Getting finances right means committing to parish ministry, enabling redress to those who have suffered church abuse, letting Project Spire do its work and so much more.
My interests include being a non-executive director (“expert by experience”) for Safe Spaces England and Wales, I support victims of abuse and believe the Church must continue to strengthen independence, transparency and accountability in safeguarding practice at every level, not just with parish clergy.
During the discussion of the Abuse Redress Measure my intervention, together with that of others, has resulted in some mitigation of the potential impact on Parishes and their PCCs with any parish contribution now being voluntary rather than mandatory, as had been proposed, and limited to 25% of the redress payment rather than the total payment involved.
As Newcastle Cathedral's Safeguarding Lead, I support the work of our Chaplain to Survivors of Church-Based Abuse and seek to ensure that Survivors’ voices continue to shape our life and ministry.
I lament the revelations of terrible abuse in the Church of England over recent decades and support the ongoing work towards new national, independent safeguarding structures.
Trust must be built from the ground up; we must move decisively to ensure our churches are genuinely safe spaces for those who are vulnerable or at risk, and that victims and survivors of abuse are genuinely cared for.
Firstly safeguarding, we are all well aware of the challenges brought about by abuse whether that be of a sexual nature, racism, bullying or maybe the abuse of power when in a position of leadership or authority.
There needs to be no further delay in completing this work and in looking after those who are victims of any form of abuse.
I started my career as a social worker working with children at risk of abuse.
It is important that we learn from past cases of abuse and listen to the voices of victims and survivors.
e Lay member of the Church of England Liturgical Commission and contributed to prayers for victims of abuse and racial justice
I believe that discrimination and abuse directed against those who are UKME/GMH, LGBTQIA+, disabled and all other marginalized groups is a safeguarding issue in its own right.
Twice in the last year, Measures (Synod’s draft laws) of great importance to the Church, the Clergy Conduct Measure and the National Church Governance Measure, have been rejected by the Ecclesiastical Committee of Parliament before they could become law because Synod did not establish proper safeguards around the use (and so potential abuse) of power.
so I will also support efforts to reduce the epidemic of loneliness, social isolation and existential distress prevalent in so many of our young people and congregations, help parishes to meet their environmental objectives whilst fully recognising the unique challenges they face with their historic buildings, and would also, I hope, contribute to important debates on social and biomedical ethics including those around poverty and exclusion, racial justice, Al, assisted dying, genetic modification, gender identity, spiritual abuse and climate change amongst so many others, so please do consider voting for me.
I have dealt with people affected by abuse, including victims and perpetrators.
Honest disagreements are healthy but must never stray into personal abuse or even dislike.
I championed the need for spiritual abuse to be recognised as a safeguarding issue on the university campus, which was a difficult task.
• I am a survivor of domestic violence and abuse in the church.
Although our communities can appear prosperous, rural poverty, domestic abuse, loneliness and isolation are often hidden, while poor transport and digital connectivity create real inequalities of access.
A safer church where the vulnerable are protected from harm and exploitation and which responds to survivors and victims of abuse.
The shock of the Makin review on John Smyth is still reverberating around the Synod and new evidence keeps coming to light of yet more victims of abuse by church
Churches are essential to connecting with people and solving many of our societal issues today including loneliness, financial pressures, food insecurity, racial injustice, mental health challenges, abuse and more.
I care about safeguarding — The Church of England has failed victims and survivors of abuse.
Passionate about Safeguarding, I was pleased to serve as a member of the Legislative Steering Committee and Revision Committee for the Abuse Redress Measure 2025.
I support any action at General Synod to tackle racism, sexism, homophobia and all discrimination and would call for repentance and honesty about our past failures and real culture change, especially regarding our failure to prevent abuse and our failure to support and believe survivors.
Safeguarding and ensuring that the Church takes seriously its responsibility to protect the vulnerable and to redress the damage inflicted on victims of abuse
The Synod should protest because scarce volunteers, working hard to maintain church buildings on behalf of their communities and the nation, now have to raise more charitable funds to pay to the government in tax. > The proposed new Independent Safeguarding Authority should be set up as quickly as possible – to increase confidence within and outside the church, and limit the continuing damage from cases of abuse, and from the failures to deal with them effectively.
I agree very much with Professor Alexis Jay, the academic who chaired the Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, that the Church should transfer all responsibility for dealing with abuse and safeguarding to an entirely independent body.
More widely, I also facilitate a Women’s Fellowship group which includes those with lived experiences of domestic abuse, disability and loneliness.
Diocese, I recently served as the safeguarding trustee at the Titus Trust, where we spent a lot of time responding to appalling abuse committed in the 1970s and 80s and to how badly victims and survivors were treated at the time and in subsequent years.
The Church of England has got this badly wrong in the past and it’s important that we support the victims of abuse and ensure robust processes are in place for the future.
As well as listening to those who have been abused, we need to have our eyes opened to what still happens, including spiritual abuse, domestic abuse, and abuse of power.
Safeguarding: My own evangelical constituency has been shake by the abuse carried out by those who are part of it and I believe the national church as a whole needs to learn from its failures and reform its safeguarding practices so that people may have confidence in them, and so that justice may be done for victims, and they may receive the care they need.
deeds, such as his example of being inclusive and challenging hypocrisy and the abuse of power, encouraging ourselves and others to take this role seriously.
I am greatly concerned that those who have faced abuse (or still do), those who are living with disability or dementia, are vulnerable, or increasingly aged, are supported and included appropriately.
I then became Diocesan President for six years, continuing work with all three of our prisons, Domestic Abuse organisations, refuges, victims of modern slavery and refugees, as well as our Away From It All Holiday (AFIA) scheme.
I am also on the steering groups for Safeguarding, AFIA, Prisons, Domestic Abuse and Modern Slavery.
Safeguarding: honing good systems and practice to ensure the Church is safe for all people, especially those who are victims and survivors of abuse, and all who are vulnerable.
The recent claim (Church Times, 14 November 2025) that traditionalist views on holy order create a ‘fertile environment for sexism and abuse’ has caused considerable hurt.
I have had the privilege of accompanying survivors of some of the most serious abuse scandals of recent years, and I am clear that survivors matter and must not be ignored.
Clergy Care, Safeguarding, and Discipline: As someone who experienced abuse at a boarding school in the 1970s and was subsequently helped toward healing by a Vicar, I know firsthand the pain of abuse and the saving grace that faithful clergy can be.
I have been honoured recently to have been invited to be the Chair of the Board of Trustees for Handcrafted, a NE Christian charity offering support, housing and training for those who experience exclusion in society e.g. prison leavers, women who have experienced domestic abuse, care leavers - https://www.handcrafted.org.uk How?
• Supporting an independent inquiry into abuse in the Soul Survivor network.
¢@ Action on Safeguarding I have known personally a number of people named in the Makin report and know the shock and pain when people you respected turn out to have abused or enabled abuse.
in the Church of England at all levels but no evidence has been produced that the confessional has allowed abuse to go on undetected and removal of the seal would make victims of abuse less likely to seek counsel in this way.
A place defined not by those from outside who come in and shout abuse at the asylum hostel, or rioted over the death of a student.
I have chaired two high profile Child Abuse Inquiries, one involving Child Sexual Abuse in a large Local Authority and the other involving the “Death of a child”.
To that end, I gave evidence at the Independent Inquiry: Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in 2021.
I also believe, in the light of the Charity Commission’s criticisms of the Church of England’s work in this area, that it is essential to distinguish between charitable trustees’ duties to protect the wellbeing of all who have contact with our church, which is important, and the separate (but essential) need to safeguard those individuals who cannot protect themselves from abuse or neglect because of their age or their care and support needs.
As a parish priest who has experienced church abuse, I want every church to be a place where people are safe, valued and able to flourish.
We must learn from our failures by listening to victims and survivors, using power well, and creating healthy church cultures where abuse cannot take root.
I also have significant experience in the prosecution of child abuse and have contributed a research paper to the International Journal of Child Abuse.
Safeguarding is another huge issue facing our church at the moment, especially with recent inquiries into historic church abuse being published and changes being made to safeguarding practices nationally.
abuse, support survivors and equip local churches to do the same.
• Those in need of sanctuary (from abuse, crisis, addictions, situations they need to leave behind)
Independent and Compassionate Safeguarding: As Synod seeks to establish independent structures for safeguarding, my prayers remain with all victims and survivors of abuse.
The Church of England still has important decisions to make about how we ensure that those affected by abuse are heard, served and cared for with integrity and genuine compassion.
By no means least, we must also put our energies into embedding good Safeguarding into the culture of our Church nationally and locally, and in working with survivors of abuse that we may learn, change, and grow in understanding and good practice.
The industry has major issues with substance abuse, poor mental health and a high rate of suicide.
I have wide experience of safeguarding throughout my professional and personal life and would hope to work to further improve the approach to safeguarding, and the response and support for survivors of abuse, in the Church of England.
Safeguarding and abuse Contact in the past with some who have abused their position in Christian leadership has led to contact with their victims, although I am not one.
A post modern frame of reference in the Western world challenges all previously held assumptions and beliefs, leaving children and young people especially vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.
the Abuse Redress Measure and authorised new Liturgies for the Creation in Christ and the 21 Martyrs of Libya.
There have been some terrible high-profile cases of abuse from all wings of the church (eg Peter Ball & John Smyth), and we have become aware that far more people have suffered abuse than we previously knew.
Key Issues: ❖ Safeguarding and Spiritual abuse: Great work has been done but there is always room for more – especially regarding this hard to define yet incredibly damaging aspect of safeguarding that the Church needs to grapple with. ❖ Review of Curacy Training: As the ordinand recruitment process has been updated I believe we need to review the curacy process.
As one body of Christ it is important that everyone has equal opportunities and equitable support. ● I seek a church that is willing to address harm and take responsibility for our individual and collective contributors to abuse.
It was a privilege to have been a member of the Abuse (Redress) Steering Committee - bringing scrutiny to the Measure (legislation) for this compensation scheme before it was approved by Synod.
The new Clergy Conduct Measure, which has recently come into force, has made some positive changes, and the Abuse Redress Measure is expected to come into force by the end of the year.
Our history of abuse, silencing, and exploitation of vulnerable people is a scandal.
I worked for the national children’s charity, Barnardo’s, for 16 years, most recently as a Children’s Service Manager for Domestic Abuse Interventions.
I have served in a voluntary capacity as a trustee of both church and secular charities, including Benchill Ecumenical Service Scheme (a charity that provided youth work and counselling) and Independent Choices (a Domestic Abuse charity).
The Redress scheme for those who have suffered abuse at the hands of present and past Church of England clergy is another area which synod needs to keep at the forefront of its agenda during the next quinquennium.
Listening carefully also means listening to survivors of abuse, and ensuring that safeguarding is upheld with the seriousness, independence and professionalism our churches deserve.