Safeguarding
Safeguarding in the Diocese of Southwark
‘The Diocese of Southwark is committed to the safeguarding of children, young people and adults and for many years this commitment has been at the heart of our work across the parishes. As a result, we have developed policies, procedures and training at all levels of the Diocese and I commend them to you.
It is my prayer that the polices and practice followed here in the Diocese of Southwark will help to contribute to making the Church a safe and welcoming place for all.’
Bishop Christopher
If you are concerned that a child or adult has been harmed or may be at risk of harm, contact the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser on 020 7939 9423 (office hours) or 020 3874 6743 (out of hours). If you have immediate concerns about someone’s safety, please contact the police and your local authority Children’s or Adult Social Care Services.
If you have been affected by matters related to Jonathan Fletcher and you would like to speak to someone about this, please contact our Safeguarding Team or Thirtyone:eight on 0303 003 1111 (quoting ‘2019‘). Thirtyone:eight is an independent Christian charity that helps individuals, organisations, charities, faith and community groups protect vulnerable people from abuse.
IICSA report
Bishop Christopher has committed the Diocese of Southwark to taking to heart and acting upon the very necessary lessons to be learned from the IICSA report published on Tuesday 6 October 2020. In order to ensure that the Diocese does all that it can to create a safe church and learn from those who have been wronged he has created a small review group to consider the recommendations of the report and how best to take the work forward in the Diocese.
Bishop Christopher commends the Executive Summary of the Report which can be found at: https://www.iicsa.org.uk/publications/investigation/anglican-church/executive-summary
The full IICSA Report can be found at: https://www.iicsa.org.uk/document/anglican-church-safeguarding-church-england-and-church-wales-investigation-report
For further information and to discuss any safeguarding concerns please contact the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser on: 020 7939 9423 (office hours) or 020 3874 6743 (out of hours).
Complaints
If you are unhappy about how a safeguarding matter has been handled, and wish to make a complaint, please write to the Chair of the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panel, Chris Smart, c/o Trinity House, 4 Chapel Court, Borough High Street, London SE1 1HW, or e-mail him on chris@pvpconsulting.co.uk
More information about the work of the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panel can be found on our dedicated DSAP web page.
Safe Spaces
The Church of England, working with the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales and the Church in Wales, has launched a free and independent national helpline run by Victim Support for anyone who has been abused through their relationship with the church. Find out more information about the service at https://www.safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk/
Please see our Links and Resources section for more information on Safe Spaces.