Safeguarding within a religious setting. Mandatory reporting where applicable, support from thirtyone:eight, and building a culture of disclosure.
As a faith leader, you hold a position of unique trust within a community. Children may approach you with concerns they would not share with parents or teachers. That trust comes with serious responsibility: to recognise abuse, to refer it on, and to make sure your setting does not become a place where harm can hide. This guide is non-denominational and aimed at any faith leader — minister, priest, imam, rabbi, sangha leader — whose work brings them into regular contact with children. Where mandatory reporting applies (as it does to regulated activity in some settings), it is named clearly.
Inquiry findings — including the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) — have shown that faith settings can become environments where abuse persists when culture, structure, or deference to authority suppresses reporting. Faith leaders who build a culture where disclosure is welcomed, where safeguarding policy is visible, and where help is sought from specialist bodies such as thirtyone:eight (formerly CCPAS) protect the children in their care and rebuild trust where it has been lost.