One of the difficulties that faith communities appear to suffer from, is in misunderstanding the absolute need to ensure that those who have sexually abused in the past, are not allowed to abuse again through not being removed and withdrawn from further contact with those that they have harmed previously. This is an issue […]
Read More →The abuse of a child is an abhorrent act that has no place in a civilised society. Most people find it difficult to contain their sense of revulsion and distaste when it is encountered. That emotional reaction is strong and often leads on to a desire to see the guilty party held to account […]
Read More →I was recently engaged to provide expert witness testimony in a case involving historic child abuse. The incidents were said to have taken place in the late eighties and early nineties. The case rested on whether an organisation had acted in a reasonable way when they had been given information indicating that one of […]
Read More →I was recently asked to present a paper at an international conference in London in which I made the statement that I felt that safeguarding standards within faith communities needed to be set at a higher level than for the rest of society. My reason for asserting that this should be case is the […]
Read More →The Basis for Trust The dilemma facing the hierarchy of the Irish Catholic Church is how they create trust. Assurances have now been given that children will be safeguarded within their care but can these be accepted? They were often given in the past and it was later shown that they were not […]
Read More →Recently the media has focused on the incidence of abuse in society and also specifically within the Catholic Church. Pope Francis mentioned in an interview that he gave to a reporter that he understood the incidence of paedophilia to be approximately 2% amongst the clergy in the Catholic Church worldwide. Many would regard this figure […]
Read More →Accountability – For whom? I have been watching with interest the media coverage of the first meeting in Rome of the newly established Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Catholic Church. This body carries on its shoulders the expectations of many millions of interested observers all hoping that it will guide the […]
Read More →I do not enjoy watching horror films. I know that they are not real but being frightened is not a pleasurable experience for me and so I choose to avoid it where I can. Facing your fears is an important part of effective safeguarding and it is something that is often ignored. It can […]
Read More →The Learning Circle: Linking Experience to Improvement The ability of individuals and organisations to learn from experience is essential if they are seeking to achieve continuous improvement in their practice. This simple truth is one that many in the field of child safeguarding appear reluctant to accept. When a tragedy occurs, inquiries frequently reveal […]
Read More →Child Protection and Child Safeguarding – More than Semantics Like many other areas of human activity, social work develops its own language. Changes in our thinking and our understanding are reflected in our communications. I recall when I first began my career, the deliberate harming of a child was termed “Non-Accidental Injury”. There was […]
Read More →