Church in Wales provided 'little' for sexual abuse victims

The inquiry's chair, Prof Alexis Jay, also led investigations into child abuse in Rotherham

"Very little" has been provided for survivors of child sexual abuse by the Church in Wales, a report has found.

There has been no systemic access to counselling, therapy or other help for survivors, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA) found.

There are also not enough safeguarding officers in Wales to meet demands and there were problems with record-keeping.

The Church in Wales apologised saying it takes the recommendations seriously.

The IICSA investigation looked at the extent to which the Church in Wales and the Church in England protected children from sexual abuse in the past and also how effective safeguarding is now.

It found the Church in Wales and the Church of England should have a policy on funding and provision of support.

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A public hearing in July 2019 heard evidence from senior church leaders, safeguarding experts as well as victims and survivors on their views of the Church's failings.

Record-keeping is a "significant problem" for the Church in Wales - records were poor and there was an absence of them.

One of the Church in Wales' safeguarding officers, Ms Faye Howe, said the current record-keeping system was "in the dark ages".

'Vital the Church improves the way it responds to allegations'

The Church struggles to know what to do when police or local authorities decide not to take action following a report of abuse, the report said, calling for a clear process to determine whether any disciplinary action is needed and also to inform risk assessments.

It said the sharing of information relevant to safeguarding between the Church in Wales and the Church of England is "piecemeal" and "lacking any formality" - with formal protocol needed.

This should include sharing information about clergy who move between Wales and England, it recommends, adding that the Church in Wales has no formal protocol with police and social services either.

The chair of the inquiry, Prof Alexis Jay, said: "If real and lasting changes are to be made, it's vital that the Church improves the way it responds to allegations from victims and survivors, and provides proper support for those victims over time.

There is no formal protocol for sharing information about clergy who move between Wales and England

"The panel and I hope that this report and its recommendations will support these changes to ensure these failures never happen again."

The report said the Church in Wales should introduce record-keeping policies relating to safeguarding, complaints and whistleblowing and they should be implemented consistently across the dioceses.

It also said the Church in Wales needs to audit safeguarding policies and practices independently, to see how effective they are.

Since January 2020, the Church in Wales has an agreement with specialist support service New Pathways to provide access to sexual violence advisors.

Survivors can contact the organisation with or without speaking to the church first.

What does the Church in Wales say?

The Church in Wales said: "Our priority is to be a church where everyone is, and feels, safe and welcome and where safeguarding is understood to be the responsibility of everybody."

It continued: "We have invested, and continue to invest, in our people and processes as a key priority for the whole of the Church in Wales."

The Church said it will be looking at how to improve the working relationship with the Church of England and other statutory agencies.

"We know that we have failed in the past in a number of areas and we apologise unreservedly to those who have been affected as a result.

"We continue to hold all survivors of abuse in our prayers and are ready to support anyone who comes forward with any concern."