On Saturday members of the General Synod met in York for and voted unanimously in favour of developing an independent ombudsman service which would handle complaints relating to how safeguarding cases have been managed in the church.
The decision came after members of the Church’s legislative body heard a report by the National Safeguarding Steering Group (NSSG).
The report asked the almost 500 members of the General Synod to strengthen support and engagement with victims and survivors of abuse, as well as implement more robust processes for clergy selection and discipline.
It also urged the hundreds of bishops, clergy and lay people to support increased oversight and scrutiny in regards to safeguarding.
A victim of sexual abuse addressed the synod for the first time ever during the safeguarding debate.
#Synod‘s standing ovation for Jo Kind pic.twitter.com/BFBhdMANMy
— CofE General Synod (@synod) July 7, 2018
Jo Kind received a standing ovation after talking about the harm caused to victims when the Church has been defective on sexual abuse.
She called on the Church of England to have a full focus on survivors and not “half an eye on reputation protection”.
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