Religious organisation child protection policies
IICSA · Child Protection in Religious Organisations and Settings Investigation Report · Issued 2 September 2021 · Addressed to: Religious Organisations
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation, E
All religious organisations should have a child protection policy and supporting procedures, which should include advice and guidance on responding to disclosures of abuse and the needs of victims and survivors. The policy and procedures should be updated regularly, with professional child protection advice, and all organisations should have regular compulsory training for those in leadership positions and those who work with children and young people.
IICSA, Child Protection in Religious Organisations and Settings Investigation Report · 2 Sep 2021 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- In May 2023, the government confirmed that multiple religious organisations had updated their policies as recommended (Government Response to IICSA Final Report, HM Government, May 2023).
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government
Between January and March 2022, Methodist Church, Triratna Buddhist Order and Community and United Reformed Church stated that they had updated their safeguarding policies and practices, and The Baptist Union for Great Britain stated that it had approved its next three-year safeguarding plan. Jehovah's Witnesses informed the Inquiry that it had updated its child protection policy. Between September 2021 and June 2022, Inter Faith Network, Muslim Council of Britain and Quakers in Britain committed to taking steps to protect children in religious settings. United Synagogue informed the Inquiry that it was monitoring its policies.
UK Government · 22 May 2023 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
No published activity has been recorded against this recommendation yet.
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.