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    OUR FINDINGS

    FAILURE TO IMPLEMENT EFFECTIVE
    CHILD PROTECTION IS PUTTING CHILDREN
    AT RISK

    We have all witnessed in the news successive scandals involving abuse by priests and clergy in positions of power over vulnerable individuals. Unequal power relationships have created opportunities for abusers to operate under the cover of respected church jobs. Hundreds have gone un-prosecuted. Church safeguarding procedures allow Bishops to keep allegations away from the police and social services. The Peter Ball and John Roberts scandals in the church of England, The Ampleforth, Downside and Ealing Abbey School scandals in the Catholic Church in England are just a few examples.

    The churches have allowed convicted sex offenders to be ordained or remain in ministry. Most church schools do not make a commitment to report all allegations of abuse to the authorities.

Stop Church Child Abuse

Please see the book setting out evidence and solutions - https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=node%3D58&field-keywords=responding+badly&rh=n%3A58%2Ck%3Aresponding+badly

All proceeds to MACSAS (Clergy abuse survivor support group)

Who we are ?

The STOP CHURCH CHILD ABUSE campaign is an alliance of clergy sexual abuse survivors, charities that support survivors, specialist lawyers and interested individuals working in the field of child safeguarding. We have come together to investigate and highlight the serious safeguarding failures of church institutions, from 1954 to the present.

What do we want?

We call on the Government to consider the creation of a new statutory body to police and enforce minimum national standards of child-safeguarding. We envisage such a body having similar powers to the Health & Safety Executive. The Health & Safety Executive operates for the safety of workers. Children are an even more vulnerable group. The absence of a powerful statutory body dedicated to their protection is a serious defect.

The introduction of compulsory incorporation will establish a system of accountability and will deal with unincorporated organisations such as churches.

Such a body will:

  1.           Establish a register of relevant Institutions that look after children.
  2.           It will be an offence to look after children without being on the register.
  3.           To be on the register institutions have to introduce a corporate structure.
  4.           “regulated” institutions will be forced to adhere to minimum safeguarding.
  5.             The body will have the power to prosecute regulated organisations for breach of this guidance (similar to HSE prosecutions). Fines will be imposed.
  6.             All corporate complaints will be captured by Mandatory Reporting legislation.
  7.           The body will gather information from complainants, regulated institutions and third parties. It will have the power to compel disclosure of material.
  8.           It will liaise with and assist civil authorities such as the police and social services. It would ensure the police and other statutory organisations are taking appropriate action within reasonable timescales. It will have the power to compel the police to investigate and refer cases to the CPS.
  9.             It will have the power to make an award of compensation via new redress scheme. It will decide the support to be offered to the complainant. It will investigate the complaint using the balance of probabilities as the standard of proof. There will be no statute of limitations. A scheme will be established to provide adequate compensation for victims of child sex abuse which takes into account the effect on quality of life and a series of other relevant factors (as opposed to the rigid CICA system).
  10.             Complainants will be allowed to take advice from lawyers and a contribution towards legal costs will be awarded.
  11.           The cost of the body’s work will be assisted by a levy on the institutions. The cost of awards of support, reparations and legal costs in each individual case will be recouped by the state direct from the organisation which was vicariously liable for the perpetrator.
  12.             It will provide to Government regular reports on its progress and, inter alia, the extent to which its activity is promoting the UK’s obligations under the UN convention on the Rights of the Child.

We have exhausted all attempts at self-regulation. It has failed. Attitude and practice has not improved, even after the uncovering of successive scandals.

Our recommendations are ones of necessity, to redress the power-imbalance between children and large institutions that would seek, for their own purposes, to care for them. It is the role of the state to protect the weak and the vulnerable. Nobody else can or will.

Why we exist?

For 20 years the leaders of the Catholic Church and the Church of England/Wales have repeatedly stated that they will respond appropriately to reports of child sexual abuse. Despite these assurances, many prosecutions have revealed that Church authorities have covered up past reports of child abuse and allowed clergy to remain in post despite allegations and in some cases past convictions for child sexual offences. In many reported cases further child abuse has taken place.

HOW CAN YOU HELP ?

We need to raise this issue with Ministers direct. An important way to do this is by letting ministers know via our MPs that there are many members of the public who support the call for an inquiry.

Please write to your MP by e-mail. You can find your MPs name and address by going to www.writetothem.com and putting in your postcode.

You can also book an appointment with your MP in his/her Friday constituency surgery. Please take along our summary document and explain that you want a letter writing to the appropriate minister.

Please tell us you have taken this action by e-mailing to enquiries@stopchurchchildabuse.co.uk

DOCUMENTS

Please see the book setting out evidence and solutions – https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=node%3D58&field-keywords=responding+badly&rh=n%3A58%2Ck%3Aresponding+badly

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All proceeds to MACSAS (Clergy survivors support)

Download Campaign Summary (word doc.)
click here ↓

Download Evidence Document (word doc.)
click here ↓

CAMPAIGN UPDATE 2012/13
Click here – Updating Report for SCCA Campaign 19.02.13

Contact Us

For more information contact:

David Greenwood, Chairman
STOP CHURCH CHILD ABUSE.
enquiries@stopchurchchildabuse.co.uk - tel : 01924 882000

Phil Johnson,Chair of MACSAS (Minister And Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors)

Jo Kind, MACSAS exec member

Paul Campbell, MACSAS exec member

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