Public policy and advocacy are the work that organisations and governments do to improve welfare and public life. Thirtyone:eight are actively involved in public policy and advocacy because our vision is for a world where every child and adult can feel, and be, safe. Our name comes from Proverbs 31:8 “speak out on behalf of the voiceless, and for the rights of those who are vulnerable.” This is our mandate. We want to ensure there’s no limitation on being heard and that our members are represented well. We aim to create space for our members to engage with politicians, faith leaders, safeguarding professionals and other experts.
Being engaged with this type of work means we’re able to bring key groups together. Those whose work overlaps, but they may not necessarily be working together. It allows for more effective working and also means politicians can hear directly from survivors too.
We've got many years of experience across our team that allows us to understand the different perspectives in public policy and how to work within them. That experience means we can work in an accountable and transparent way, helping to shape good quality, well-researched and evidence-led public policy that creates safer spaces for everyone.
Managing this work for Thirtyone:eight is Katy Jackson. We spoke to Katy about her role and why our members should be engaged in public policy and advocacy.
What is the role of the Public Policy and Advocacy Manager at Thirtyone:eight?
I am responsible for managing all our public policy and advocacy work. The beauty of the role is that it’s so diverse and every day is different! I represent Thirtyone:eight at forums, working groups and events across the UK, sharing our views and expertise. Some days, I will be focusing on responding to consultations, producing briefing papers on key legislative issues or managing the Secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Safeguarding in Faith Communities. On other days, I’ll be reacting to announcements from the Government or news, putting together press releases and blogs to keep our members up to date.
The role also involves a lot of meeting people, making them aware of the work we are doing, building relationships, and negotiating where we can work together. I really enjoy this part of the role as I do like to chat!
What is your background?
I am a qualified and registered social worker and have worked in a variety of roles within the statutory and voluntary sector, including the local authority and the voluntary housing sector. I have worked in direct practice with children and adults as a social worker and have managed a social work team for the safeguarding and assessment referrals coming into the service too.
I have also worked for Thirtyone:eight in the safeguarding consultancy team. During this time, I offered consultancy services to churches and charities in relation to safeguarding practice, audits, investigations, risk assessments and supporting the safeguarding helpline.
In all these roles, I have been aware of the public policy backdrop and how it informs safeguarding best practice.
Why do you think public policy is important to charities like Thirtyone:eight?
Charities like Thirtyone:eight are at the coal face of safeguarding work and working with vulnerable people. Due to this, we and charities like us understand and have expertise relating to the complexities that can exist when working on safeguarding in the faith and charity contexts; therefore, public policy is an opportunity for us to share this with decision makers. Ultimately, we want to see change that will impact and safeguard those we support.
Do you think public policy is important to our members and why?
I absolutely think that public policy is important to our members. Public policy guides the law, best practice guidance and standards for our safeguarding practice, impacting much of our members’ work.
It can sometimes feel like there is a disconnect between our day-to-day roles in our local charities and churches and what goes on in Government. However, I am a big believer that the two areas work together; the legislation and policies put in place by the Government guide and equip us in our safeguarding roles and responsibilities and our experiences and expertise can highlight what is working well and not working well in practice to support Government to put in place relevant changes. The goal of our member organisations and the Government is to keep children and adults safe when engaging in activities.
What sort of things are Thirtyone:eight involved in?
We are involved in so many different areas! We work directly with the four Governments across the UK to build relationships, advocate and influence the legislation and guidance. To do this, we work alongside parliamentarians and partners across the UK to strengthen the key arguments and highlight areas for change.
A key area of responsibility in England that I’ve already mentioned is managing the Secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Safeguarding in Faith Communities. The APPG has engagement from parliamentarians from both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, charity partners and Survivors of abuse. The main goal of the APPG is to bring parity to the safeguarding sector and to level the playing field for faith communities in terms of safeguarding legislation and practice. A key focus for the APPG currently is the implementation of the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).
I attend a range of events, forums and working groups to network, build relationships and feed into the key work going on across the sector. I attend these across the UK devolved nations to make sure that I am keeping up to date on the key legislative differences across the board and that I am advocating appropriately when working in each nation.
What issues are Thirtyone:eight advocating for?
One of the key public policy and advocacy priorities for Thirtyone:eight is the implementation of the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) report which includes the introduction of mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse in England and Wales.
Thirtyone:eight are also advocating for:
- The introduction of a statutory definition for grooming across the UK
- Outlawing the defense of reasonable punishment in Northern Ireland and England
- A review of the current definition of regulated activity for England and Wales due to the loopholes that exist
- The introduction of position of trust legislation in Scotland and Ireland to ensure that faith communities are included as an environment where 16- and 17-year-olds engage with adults who have a position of responsibility over them.
You can read Thirtyone:eight’s manifesto here.
How can our members get more involved in public policy and advocacy?
A good starting point if our you would like to start engaging with public policy is to regularly read Thirtyone:eight’s news and blogs. This is a good way of keeping up to date on what is going on across the UK. It’s worth checking your Thirtyone:eight membership emails regularly as well as if there are any public policy updates, we would share them with you this way.
If you want to be more active in your public policy work, you can respond to Government consultations on areas that are relevant to your context. All the UK Governments provide regular emails on consultations to which you can subscribe and filter the areas relevant to your organisation. Thirtyone:eight will also highlight relevant consultations for the sector on our social media, via our membership emails and blogs.
Another way you could advocate for change is by writing to your local Member of Parliament (MP), Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) or Member of the Senedd to highlight areas of practice that require change and your views on what helpful change would look like. If you are not sure what issues to start with then you could start by reading our manifesto which details our key asks of the Governments across the UK.
Find out more about the manifesto.
Find out more about the APPG.
If you have any further queries about Thirtyone:eight’s public policy work, then you can email [email protected].