Thirtyone:eight has really become the go-to in the Christian sector when it comes to safeguarding. We began hearing about your brilliant work from so many other organisations that it was hard to ignore!
Kate Sharma, Cinnamon Network
Equip society
We equip society with knowledge and skills to create safe environments for children and adults at risk, by sharing information and training others through our membership, training and consultancy services.
Our 23 year partnership with Thirtyone:eight provides us with safeguarding professionals who understand the context of our event and therefore the short window of opportunity we have to address safeguarding situations before our event comes to a close. Partnering with Thirtyone:eight equips us to help those most at risk of harm to find positive transformation in their lives.
Phil Loose, Spring Harvest
Empower society
We empower society to respond to people who are vulnerable or who have experienced abuse. Our expert safeguarding helpline is open seven days a week, with emergency out-of-hours support.
Safeguarding Helpline callers
Encourage society
We empower society to stand against oppression and exploitation by developing legislation and to strive to raise the standards in safeguarding practice. We do this through direct Government engagement, research, and campaigns.
Government consultations engaged with 2024/25:
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Working Together to Safeguard Children (England)
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Ending Violence against Women and Girls Strategic Framework (Northern Ireland)
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Review of list of Specified Offences (Northern Ireland)
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Information Sharing Advice for Safeguarding Practitioners (England)
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Mandatory Reporting of Child Sexual Abuse: Call for Evidence (England and Wales)
This year we launched our first manifesto setting out the key opportunities for Government to improve policy, legislation and guidance to offer greater protection for all children and adults living in the UK.
The Manifesto aims to:
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Strengthen the safeguards that are already in place
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Better protect victims and survivors of abuse
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Create safer environments for all.
We are calling on the UK government and the devolved administrations, to align safeguarding legislation as far as possible across the four nations so that wherever people live in the UK, they can experience the same level of protection from harm and abuse.
Research
Abuse in Religious Settings is a two-and-a-half-year project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The project consists of seven pieces of research and we're leading on experiences of engagement between safeguarding professionals in statutory agencies, faith communities and survivors.
Find out more about our researchSafeguarding Standards Award
Launched in2024, this Award helps our member organisations demonstrate and certify their organisation's commitment to raising safeguarding standards. The Award helps organisations identify its current strengths and any areas where extra work may be needed to further embed safeguarding within its culture and identity.
Find out more about the award
We are really proud to have completed and achieved this award. It has made us even more proud that for every person who comes into our centres, we know we are a safe place. It is an exercise that helps address every aspect of safeguarding and gives external validation and assurance that your safeguarding practices are effective.
NAYC, Safeguarding Standards Award Holder
Safeguarding Sunday
Safeguarding Sunday is our annual safeguarding awareness campaign for churches. Now it in its sixth year with over 5,700 churches of different backgrounds taking part, it aims to:
- Encourage churches to reflect and talk about where they may have got things wrong in the past
- Think about how they are supporting those who have been hurt or harmed
- Support and acknowledge all the good work that is being done behind the scenes to protect vulnerable people and create safer cultures and communities for all both now and in the future.
Churches who take part in Safeguarding Sunday see:
- Greater positive awareness and understanding of safeguarding among church members.
- Increased numbers of people feeling able to talk about their abuse for the first time.
- More volunteers coming forward for safeguarding roles and to help with children’s/youth work.
- Increased number of people completing safeguarding training and criminal record checks.
- And the number of Safeguarding Leads feeling supported in their role by the church is bigger!
The congregation become more aware of the importance of safeguarding. It’s not just form filling. It is a way of life that involves us all as a community.
Safeguarding Sunday 2024 participant