The Church of England has been asked in Parliament about the steps it is taking to rebuild trust with survivors of abuse.
Cat Smith, the Labour MP for Lancaster and Wye put the written question to Second Church Estates Commissioner Marsha De Cordova.
In her reply, Ms Cordova who is also the Labour MP for Battersea, said:
“The Church of England recognises that trust among victims and survivors varies greatly, as each survivor is on a different journey. We engage with a high number of people with lived experience, and we are committed to learning with those with lived experience and rebuilding trust, relationships, and steps to healing and recovery.”
She said that “some survivors are rebuilding trust through support services such as the Interim Support Service, and diocesan support provision, while others actively shape safeguarding improvements by co-developing policies and practices.”
But she acknowledged that the Church had to seek a victim-led approach because many survivors find it hard to develop trust.
“In recent years the Church has created multiple opportunities for survivors to speak out and influence change,” she wrote, adding that the Church had last year co-developed a National Survivor Participation Framework with victims and survivors, which now guides engagement across the Church. She said it was a “milestone” that the redress scheme for survivors had been approved by General Synod.
According to Ms Cordova the Church has planned to embed into dioceses and cathedrals a framework for listening to children and young people with the aim of capturing the impact of survivors.
“Building trust is a long-term commitment, and we continue to work with victims and survivors, and external agencies, to build on the work we have started,” she wrote.
The Church of England has been under scrutiny in recent years over its handling of abuse after a number of reviews concluded it had failed in its response to survivors.