Religious organisations and communities are frequent targets of abusers.
Religious institutions are often well-placed and strongly motivated to cover up incidents of sexual and physical abuse.
We work to hold these organisations to account and get justice for abuse victims and survivors.
Many religious organisations enjoy a close relationship with the establishment and tend to see themselves as above the law. This can increase the risk of abuse, prevent perpetrators from facing justice, and impede efforts to support and compensate victims and survivors of abuse.
Those intent on abuse are often attracted to religious institutions. Such organisations give access to, and sometimes extreme control over, numerous children and vulnerable adults.
When abuse does occur, religious organisations often act to protect the reputation of the institution above the rights of the victim. They may pressure the victim to stay silent and move the perpetrator to somewhere unaware of their reputation.
Many religious institutions also have influence and connections that enable them to evade justice and scrutiny, often for decades.
All forms of abuse, be they sexual, physical or psychological, can cause serious harm. Victims of abuse in religious settings have suffered physical and mental health problems, including addiction, self-harm and suicide.
Abuse can take place in any religious setting. That's why we work at the national and international level to hold religious organisations to account for safeguarding failings, and to ensure victims and survivors can get justice.
Take action!
1. Share your story
Tell us why you support this campaign, and how you are personally affected by the issue. You can also let us know if you would like assistance with a particular issue.
2. Write to your MP
Ask your MP to support our work to end abuse in religion settings
3. Join the National Secular Society
Become a member of the National Secular Society today! Together, we can separate religion and state for greater freedom and fairness.
Latest updates
UN children's body slates Vatican over child abuse
Posted: Wed, 5 Feb 2014 12:21
A United Nations committee has issued a scathing report accusing the Vatican of putting the reputation and interests of the Holy See above the interests of children who had been sexually abused by priests.
The report from the UN committee on the Rights of the Child again repeats the demand for the Vatican to hand over its archives on sexual abuse of tens of thousands of children so that culprits, as well as "those who concealed their crimes", could be held accountable.
The United Nations has also demanded the Vatican "immediately remove" all clergy who are known or suspected child abusers and turn them over to civil authorities, in an unprecedented and scathing report.
The committee's report, published today, said: "The Committee is gravely concerned that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children, and has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by and the impunity of the perpetrators."
The UNCRC has called on a commission created by Pope Francis in December to investigate all cases of child sexual abuse "as well as the conduct of the Catholic hierarchy in dealing with them."
The Committee also called for an investigation of the Magdalene laundries so that those responsible for abusing children could be prosecuted and to allow "full compensation be paid to the victims and their families".
The UNCRC said the Catholic Church had not yet taken measures to prevent a repeat of cases such as the Magdalene scandal, where girls were arbitrarily placed in conditions of forced labour.
The Committee rejected the Vatican's contention that it was responsible for implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child only on the territory of the Vatican City. In ratifying the convention it was also responsible, as the supreme power of the Catholic Church, for ensuring implementation through individuals and institutions placed under its authority, said the UN Committee.
The Committee also severely rebuked the Holy See for its attitudes toward homosexuality, contraception and abortion and said it should review its policies to ensure children's rights and their access to health care are guaranteed.
The report has been warmly welcomed by the National Secular Society, which has long campaigned to ensure the Vatican is held to account for its failure to address the issue of child abuse.
Keith Porteous Wood, National Secular Society executive director, commented:
"The scale of abuse both numerically and geographically by Catholic clerics already known is massive, and the individual suffering it has caused, sometimes resulting in suicides, is immeasurable. That abuse is further compounded at Vatican level by flagrantly breaching the Convention by continuing to do everything in its power to shield abusing clerics from justice and keep their abuse secret.
"Lawyers confirm that evidence abounds of the Church at all levels continuing, even following the resignation of Pope Benedict, to do everything in its power to shield abusing Catholic clerics from justice and maintain secrecy, and do the least possible for victims. It does not seem credible that Pope Francis was not consulted prior to the refusal over the last few months of the Holy See/Vatican to answer the Committee's most important written and oral questions, or to the recall of the former papal Nuncio of the Dominican Republic credibly accused of serious abuse of minors. He is now under the protection of the Vatican, which refuses to allow him to be submitted to justice in the Dominican Republic, or in Poland – of which he was until very recently a citizen.
"Pope Francis has already missed opportunities to assert his authority to reverse the Church's damaging policies over clerical abuse and unless he responds positively and quickly to the demands of the Committee, he risks history judging his whole papacy a failure."
The National Secular Society made written submissions to the Committee, concerning the continuing shielding of abusing clerics by the Catholic Church worldwide. The Society, along with a small number of victims' groups, gave oral evidence and was cross examined by the Committee in June 2013 in a private pre-sessional meeting of the Committee.
The Society also made a submission to the Committee setting out why the refusal of the Holy See to accept responsibility under the Convention for abuse of children worldwide by clerics of the Church, given the centralised control of the Vatican, itself constituted a breach of the Convention. This submission was formally endorsed by prominent international human rights lawyer, Geoffrey Robertson QC.
Read the Concluding Observations of the CRC Committee to the Holy See in full here (pdf).
Vatican challenged by UN over its handling of child abuse
Posted: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 20:51
Representatives from the Vatican have faced tough questions over the Holy See's record on sexual abuse and other forms of violence against children by a UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in Geneva.
The Holy See was questioned over its failure to comply with the Convention on Rights of the Child, and faced allegations that many more children had been abused because the Church had protected paedophile priests at the expense of victims.
A common theme of questioning was the disparity between what the Catholic Church says in public and what it actually does to combat child abuse within its ranks.
One Committee member said it was "difficult to continue listening" to the Holy See representatives when no concrete actions were being taken by the Holy See to adequately respond to the needs of victims.
One of the UN committee's special rapporteurs, Sara De Jesus Oviedo Fierro, demanded that the Vatican provide details on abuse cases and on the counter-measures taken, as had been demanded previously by the UN body.
However, in its responses to the UN Committee's questions, the Holy See attempted to evade responsibility and accountability for the widespread abuse of children and subsequent cover-ups by insisting that the Holy See was "separate and distinct" from the Roman Catholic Church – and that its jurisdiction is only over the territory of the Vatican City State (where only 36 children live).
Bishop Charles Scicluna, the Vatican's former chief prosecutor of clerical sexual abuse, insisted that it was "not the policy of the Holy See to encourage cover-ups". However, when directly challenged over an example where the Vatican congratulated a Bishop for refusing to inform police about a paedophile priest despite an admission of guilt (raised with the committee in a submission by the NSS), Bishop Scicluna replied: "The Holy See gets it, let's not say too late... There are certainly things that need to be done differently".
When quizzed over the lack of compensation paid to victims of abuse, the Vatican representative insisted that the individual causing the damage was responsible, rather than the Church. One Committee member suggested the Church should consider setting up a compensation scheme to compensate victims of priests employed by the Church, but the Vatican said it would need to take advice on this before responding.
Whilst Vatican officials repeatedly emphasised the need for better training and education of priests, they failed to adequately answer concerns about justice for victims, or offer full disclosure of crimes committed in the past. Bishop Scicluna did, however, concede to the Committee that the Holy See's "nice words" would not mean anything without greater transparency and accountability in its next report to the Committee.
Barbara Blaine, president of SNAP, a group representing US victims of abuse by priests, told BBC News that the hearing had brought "hope to victims across the globe".
But it would also stand, she said, as a "record of how the Church officials refused to answer the questions, how they claim to be open and transparent, and yet they don't live up to that ideal".
Keith Porteous Wood, National Secular Society executive director, praised the UN Committee for holding the Vatican to account for its responsibilities under the Convention to act in the best interests of children.
Mr Wood said: "The Holy See tried hard to give the impression that it had changed its policy on the need to report abusers to civil authorities. Nevertheless, it conspicuously employed an armoury of diversions to evade repeated requests for instructions to be issued by the Vatican for mandatory reporting of credible accusations to civil authorities by the Church worldwide. It also sidestepped requests to release a database of the accusations they require the worldwide church to report to the Vatican.
"The Holy See continually emphasised the importance of pastoral support for victims, but we have never seen evidence anywhere in the world of the support they describe, but much evidence of every possible tactic being employed to frustrate this" he said.
Mr Wood added that he hoped the public examination and resulting media coverage would cause the Vatican to reflect on whether it should be more open and honour its obligations under the Convention.
The Committee was examining a five yearly report – mandatory under the Convention – submitted over ten years late by the Vatican. The eventual filing of that report followed interventions about its non-filing at the plenary sessions of the UN Human Rights Council 2009-2011 by Keith Porteous Wood (under the auspices of the International Humanist and Ethical Union).
Last year, on the basis of an earlier written submission, the National Secular Society was invited, together with a number of organisations representing victims, to be cross-examined during a private session with the Committee in preparation for this public examination.
The Committee will deliver its observations and non-binding recommendations on 5 February.
Read a transcript of the questions from the Committee and the answers of the Holy See's delegation
