Safeguarding Conference 2021 – Faith Community’s Response to Child Abuse

There are over 45,000 places of worship in the UK. They offer children and young people wonderful opportunities to develop spiritually and to be part of larger, caring communities.

Sadly, as in all organisations where adults interact with children, faith communities also provide opportunities for inappropriate behaviours towards children.

INDEPENDENT INQUIRY INTO CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE (IICSA)

The recent Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) found that some religious organisations in England and Wales were “morally failing” children. The inquiry found “shocking failings” and “blatant hypocrisy” in the way major UK religious groups handle child abuse allegations including exploiting positions of trust to perpetrate abuse, discouraging reports of abuse to protect their reputations, and blaming victims.

CONFERENCE

This half-day conference in Bradford is free to attend for SFI member organisations.

The event will feature presentations and workshops from child safeguarding experts and provide practical tools to help faith institutions prevent, identify and eradicate child abuse.

Workshops:

(certificates will be provided):

● Online Safety for Children

● Supporting Survivors of Abuse

● Child protection policies that work

● Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) at faith centres: role and responsibility

● Child Protection in Out of School Settings

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

The event is primarily aimed at representatives of places of worship (such as Churches, Gurdwaras, Mosques, Synagogues and Churches) and religious supplementary schools.

Anybody working within faith institutions or supplementary school who is passionate about preventing and responding to child abuse should attend including:

• Faith leaders

• Trustees/Committee Members

• Staff & Volunteers