Research into safeguarding in Christian faith contexts
As a charity we are committed to being a learning organisation. To do this, we commission academically rigorous and timely research to help develop best practice around safeguarding within the faith sector in the UK and internationally.
Working together with academic institutions we research areas of safeguarding to help inform the development of our training, practice guidance and the quality of the advice we give so that those who access our services can be confident that what we provide is based upon the very latest information available.
We share our learning by making our findings accessible to wider audiences and the public through the publication of reports, journals and seminars.
Research studies
In 2021, we partnered with the Department of Psychology at the University of Chester to conduct research into the experiences of safeguarding leads in their roles in Christian faith contexts in the United Kingdom before, during and post Covid-19.
The purpose of the research was to help build a better understanding of the impact the global pandemic has had on safeguarding in these settings.
The key themes emerging from the research were presented at an online roundtable event on Friday 11th June 2021 which can be viewed here.
The final report can be found here and a short video exploring the findings can be accessed here.
In 2020, we partnered with the Department of Psychology at the University of Chester to conduct research into understanding the challenges of safeguarding children and young people in international Christian work.
It explored the challenges and training needs with regards to policy and practice - from application stage to being ‘on mission’ - for sending organisations and those being sent, as well as examining how Christian Charities and NGOs might work effectively with partners overseas to develop a shared understanding of good child protection practice.
The aim of the research was to provide a foundation on which to develop training, policy and practice in this much needed and growing area of concern.
The final report of the research can be downloaded here.
In 2017, we partnered with the National Centre for Post-qualifying Social Work & Professional Practice (NCPQSW) at Bournemouth University to conduct research into understandings of spiritual abuse in Christian communities.
The term ‘spiritual abuse‘ is currently contentious and the topic of much debate and so the aim of this research was to help existing work in understanding this form of abuse, and to inform the development of policy and practice guidance and training.
A summary of the findings can be downloaded here.
Our latest statement on the use and definition of the term spiritual abuse can be found here.
In 2016, we partnered with the Victoria Climbie Foundation (VCFUK) and Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) to undertake research on behalf of the government's National Working Group on Child Abuse Linked to Faith and Belief (of which we are member) and in line with the group's National Action Plan to explore understandings of this poorly understood issue. The aim of the research was to broaden knowledge and build a toolkit that could be used to aid people work in this area.
The summary findings of this research study can be downloaded here.
A peer-reviewed article based on the research was published in Child Abuse Review Vol. 28 in February 2019 which can be viewed here.
In 2014, we partnered with Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) to conduct the first and largest research study into understandings of safeguarding adults in the Christian faith community.
This research gathered over 3,000 participants from all over the UK and produced the largest-ever data sample looking at this issue.
As a result of this initial study, we have been able to draw a huge amount of learning about vulnerability and safeguarding adults in Christian contexts. The first of a series of studies from this data has resulted in a peer-reviewed article published in the Journal of Adult Protection.
