On 5th March 2018, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) will start three weeks of hearings in London to examine the Church’s failures to protect vulnerable people from sexual abusers.
The IICSA was set up in 2015 following serious concerns that some organisations in England and Wales had failed and were continuing to fail to protect children. The Anglican Church in England and Wales is one of the 13 areas being investigated, with the focus being the Church of England.
The inquiry will assess the structure, practices and procedures of the diocese in granting permission to officiate, and its conduct when faced with subsequently convicted child abusers within the diocese or the cathedral will be examined. This will include how individuals were recruited by the Church - particularly those with convictions for child sexual abuse - and whether such systems had been changed. It will scrutinise current safeguarding practices.
The inquiry is set to consider the Church’s responses to survivors when disclosures were made, including the financial and pastoral reparations offered, as well as the speediness of the implementation of its own recommendations from internal investigations.
David Greenwood, Head of Child Abuse Department at Switalskis Solicitors has provided submissions throughout the inquiry and is involved thus far with the Catholic, Anglican and Nottinghamshire Inquiries. David has, and continues to, represent many of the abuse victims.
During a preliminary hearing on 30th January 2018, delivered by the counsel to the Inquiry, Fiona Scolding QC outlined the timetable for disclosure, witness statements, and the public hearing. A link to the timetable can be found here.
Diocese of Chichester Case Study
The first of the Public Hearings into the Church will commence in March and will focus on the Diocese of Chichester Case Study.
To date, the inquiry has received more than 206,000 pages of material, 75,000 of which related to the Diocese of Chichester case study, where several clergymen were found to have abused young boys. The hearing will focus of on findings of past investigations and steps taken by the Church of England to implement recommendations and “the culture of the Church…it’s behaviours, values and beliefs which have inhibited or continue to inhibit the investigation, exposure and prevention of child sexual abuse.”
Peter Ball
There will be a further week of Public Hearings into Peter Ball, the disgraced former Bishop of Gloucester, which will commence on the 23rd July 2018.
Peter Ball admitted to the abuse of 18 young men over a 15-year period. The Public Hearing into Ball will cover several topics including:
i. why the Church failed to take steps during the 1990’s to refer further information to the police;
ii. whether the culture of the Church had an impact on the investigation at the time;
iii. why the Crown Prosecution Service gave Peter Ball a caution rather than prosecute him;
iv. what was known about Ball’s case during an archiepiscopal visitation in 2011/12; and
v. why Peter Ball was granted an informal permission to officiate even given his offending.
An overall hearing into the Church and how well safeguarding practices are working, the appropriateness of reparations made and continuing to be made and how more recent referrals are dealt with is expected in 2019.
David Greenwood, Switalskis Solicitors
David Greenwood can provide a legal comment on the Inquiry and is available for interview. However, he can also be quoted as follows: “This inquiry wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for the tenacity and bravery of those victims of abuse who have given evidence. Credit should also be given to organisations such as the Ministry and Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors group for their unwavering support.”
