Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips has spoken to a parliamentary grouping in regards to the role that faith groups can and will play in stopping abuse.
The All Party Parliamentary Group for Safeguarding in Faith Communities (APPG) acts as a forum for parliamentarians, faith leaders, survivors of abuse and relevant experts. Its aim is to debate and to advertise probably the most effective methods of protecting the vulnerable from abuse, particularly in faith-based and non secular settings.
The issue of sexual abuse in faith based settings has grown in prominence within the last twenty years, with quite a few abuse scandals tainting the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. Significant concerns have also been raised about predominantly Muslim rape gangs.
Phillips, who earlier this 12 months faced criticism for refusing to conduct a national inquiry into the rape gangs – something the federal government has now U-turned on – told the APPG that faith communities needed to display transparency, accountability and cultural change in an effort to prevent abuse.
“Freedom of faith is a cornerstone of our democracy, but it might probably never be a shield for abuse or inaction,” she said.
“I’ve been clear that anyone undertaking relevant activity with children in England might be subject to the brand new duty to report child sexual abuse. This includes religious instructors, youth employees and volunteers.
“We are committed to working with faith communities to lift standards, close loopholes, and be certain that every child – no matter their faith or background – is protected, heard, and guarded.”
Her comments were noted by Justin Humphreys, the joint CEO of Thirtyone:eight, a number one Christian safeguarding charity.
Humphreys, an adviser to the APPG, said that it “welcomed the chance to place inquiries to the Minister on the effectiveness of the proposed Mandatory Reporting duty and asked how the federal government intend to have interaction faith communities further”.
“Jess reassured the group that the federal government is open to continued collaboration and is committed to working directly with the APPG. We look ahead to working together with her in the long run,” he said.
