When a member of clergy is suspended, voluntarily steps down from duties or has their PTO withdrawn because of a safeguarding allegation, this can have a significant impact on:
- members of the Church community;
- other members of clergy or the Church, such as PCC members, lay ministers, churchwardens, parish and Church school staff;
- victims and survivors who are part of the Church;
- the family, relatives and friends of the respondent.
It can happen that the members of a Church community are divided in their attitude and loyalties, with some expressing disbelief about what is being suggested and compassion towards the respondent, while others blaming the respondent or the Church Body, and expressing strong anger towards one or the other. Feelings of disbelief, anger and fear that others known to them may have been abused can impact on a Church community’s culture and can persist for years. Those responsible for the leadership of a Church community may need to consider undertaking mediation and community healing efforts to address such impacts.
As a result, it is important to consider and appropriately manage how the circumstances surrounding an allegation will be communicated to those groups and the support that may need to be put in place. What those communications and support may need to look like will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the SCMG.
Communications
Care should be taken as to who shares information about the case, how it is shared and with whom, as well as the impact that this can have on those receiving the information.
The SCMG should decide whether and what communications are released to the members of the Church community. This should be done with advice from the relevant Communications Director. Advice from a Diocesan Registrar, legal advisor or the Data Protection Officer may also need to be sought.
Any information released publicly should be proportionate and should not compromise any disciplinary or statutory processes, nor the confidentiality of those involved. Where appropriate, any communications should be agreed with statutory services, and the respondent should be informed what is going to be shared. Whatever is shared in the public domain should be minimal and necessary.
Most communications released should include a reference to the Safeguarding Officer’s contact details – ensuring that, where there is the possibility of multiple victims linked to the respondent, those victims have an avenue for disclosure. This also applies to victims who decide to disclose their experiences of abuse as a result of seeing the communications, even if their experiences are not linked to the respondent. References to available support should also be included. Where the case involves a significant number of complainants, consideration should be given as to whether a dedicated support function needs to be offered.