Christians mission trips to have safeguarding challenges looked into to ensure best practise

Since it was revealed that staff at Oxfam had hired prostitutes while in Haiti, other missions, charities and NGOs are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of having good safeguarding procedures.

However, Christian safeguarding charity Thirty:One Eight says more research is needed to enable a full understanding of the challenges faced by those in this field, to then ensure that best practise is carried out across the board.

In a questionnaire, Thirty:One Eight will be looking into what challenges those who go on mission trips face when trying to protect children and vulnerable adults and asks questions such as whether those going abroad are required to have a DBS check or not.

Thirty:One Eight, who assisted the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in the Church of England and help churches with their safeguarding practise, will work with the University of Chester’s psychology department to launch an academic study into the challenges and training needs for organisations sending people abroad for mission.

Justin Humphreys, CEO of Thirty:One Eight, said: “We have a strong track record of conducting and commissioning research in the UK and overseas. In order to help with the development of best practice in safeguarding within the faith sector

“We are particularly excited about this study, which comes at a crucial time amidst growing scrutiny of…