Victims and Survivors
The welfare of children and vulnerable adults is of paramount importance to the Diocese of Exeter. We urge anyone wishing to give information or make disclosures of church-related abuse to make direct contact with the Diocesan Safeguarding Team.
However, we recognise that those with a lived experience of abuse from within the Church may prefer to seek support or advice independent from the Diocese and as such have listed a number of relevant support services below.
Support for Victims and Survivors
- Responding Well: A Guide to Support for Victims and Survivors: This Guide outlines what support you can expect if you have experienced abuse within a church setting and decide to report it to a Diocesan Safeguarding Team.
- Safe Spaces: Safe Spaces offers a free and independent telephone support service for anyone who has experienced any form of abuse through their relationship with either the Church of England, the Catholic Church of England and Wales or the Church in Wales. Safe Spaces comprises a team of specialist support advocates who are skilled in supporting survivors of sexual violence and who have received additional training in how the churches respond to abuse cases. The team understands the way in which faith and church-related settings have been used to carry out abuse and the particular issues affecting people who have had, or still have, a relationship with the church.
- First Light: First Light provides an attentive and attuned listening ear to assist people in talking about experiences in relation to present or past abuse. The service can assist individuals in considering the next steps, and provides support in taking them. Next steps could include reporting abuse to a statutory agency, instigating disciplinary, proceedings, seeking counselling, pastoral support or mediation.
- moMENtum: moMENtum is a mutual support group for male survivors of childhood sexual abuse. The group meet as equals for support, to gain an understanding of one another and to share information and resources. More information is available on their website.
Safeguarding Quick Links
