ENGLAND
The Christian Times
February 10, 2018
By Jardine Malado
The Church of England is dealing with more than 3,000 cases of sexual abuse in the forms of concerns and allegations, prompting concerns that it would have to pay millions in compensation even if only a fraction of the complaints were upheld.
Peter Hancock, bishop of Bath and Wells, has shared the latest figures showing that the total of concerns or allegations of sexual abuse had reached 3,300 by 2016.
The report, which was unveiled during a three-day meeting of the General Synod in London, has sorted out new complaints from longstanding ones, but nearly all cases involve children, young people or vulnerable adults.
The figures have shown that 18 percent of the cases involve church officers, most likely members of the clergy, while others facing sexual abuse allegations in the church setting include lay individuals and other churchgoers.
Hancock stated in documents prepared for the Synod that dioceses made 338 “risk assessments” in 2016 after complaints against individuals, with 19 of the assessed being members of the clergy. The Church has reportedly created 867 “safeguarding agreement” with individuals in order to ensure that someone who has been assessed as a risk is supervised and kept away from possible victims.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.