When a volunteer steps down from duties because of a safeguarding allegation, this can have a significant impact on:
- members of the Church community (e.g. parishioners);
- other volunteer or elected members of 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.
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.
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. It is not unusual for people to come together to support and advocate on behalf of the respondent. On the other hand, 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
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, including the respondent and complainant.
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 Director of Communications. Advice from a Diocesan Registrar or the relevant Data Protection Officer may also need to be sought. The respondent should be invited to express their wishes regarding the way in which communications should be released, including the way in which communications should be released to their family members or relatives and close friends. Consideration should also be given to protect the complainant’s safety and wellbeing.
Any information released publicly should be proportionate and should not compromise any disciplinary and/or statutory processes. Where appropriate, any communications released 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 – sharing detailed information about the respondent and their life and activity in the Church, where there is not a clear reason to do so, would not be proportionate.
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.