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
Dutch Catholic Church under fire for castrating teenagers
Posted: Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:31
At least 10 teenage boys or men under the age of 21 were surgically castrated "to get rid of homosexuality" while in the care of the Dutch Roman Catholic Church in the 1950s.
Evidence of the castrations has emerged amid controversy that it was not included in the findings of an official investigation into sexual abuse within the church last year.
The NRC Handelsblad newspaper identified Henk Heithuis (pictured), who was castrated in 1956 after reporting priests to the police for abusing him in a Catholic boarding home. Joep Dohmen, a journalist, found evidence of at least nine other castrations. Mr Heithuis died in a car crash in 1958, two years after being castrated at the age of 20, while under the age of majority, which was then 21.
Two clergymen were convicted of sexual abuse and Mr Heithuis was put in a Catholic psychiatric hospital before being admitted to a hospital in Veghel. There, court papers confirm, he was castrated "at his own request", despite no submission of written consent. Cornelius Rogge, a sculptor and friend of Mr Hethuis is reported to have seen the effects of the castration and believes that "the castration was a punishment".
Sources told Mr Dohmen that the surgical removal of testicles was regarded as a treatment for homosexuality and as a punishment for those who accused clergy of abuse.
Last December, an investigation by Wim Deetman, a former minister, received 1,800 reports of sexual abuse by clergy or volunteers within Dutch Catholic dioceses in the period since 1945. The Heithuis case was not followed up because "there were few leads for further research". There are through to be at least ten other such cases.
However, according to this report, "Vic Marijnen, the chairman of the board at Harreveld boarding school, who later served as Dutch prime minister, had written a letter to the Dutch queen, requesting a pardon for those convicted of abuse at his school. Both this, and the information about castrations, was known to the Deetman Commission that investigated church sex abuse in theNetherlands. But neither matter was mentioned in the lengthy Deetman report published in December."
Yesterday it emerged that minutes of meetings held in Catholic-run psychiatric institutions in the 1950s show that government inspectors were present when castrations were discussed.
Government resists calls to regulate madrassas
Posted: Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:29
Children & Families Minister Tim Loughton MP has said that he is not convinced there is any need to regulate Britain's madrassas, despite clear evidence of abuse.
The Minister was responding to concerns expressed by the National Secular Society about child protection in Islamic schools. This followed a BBC investigation which revealed that over 400 allegations of physical abuse (and 30 of sexual abuse) were made at Britain's madrassas in the last three years. Only 10 cases went to court, and of these only two apparently led to convictions.
A senior prosecutor has suggested that these figures were likely to represent only the 'tip of an iceberg'. Nazir Afzal, the chief crown prosecutor for the North West of England, has commented that the figures represent "a significant underestimate".
UK madrassas are attended by more than 250,000 children from Muslim backgrounds every day for lessons on the Quran and Islamic culture.
In a letter to the Society, Mr Loughton said he was not convinced that it would be practicable for Government to implement a national register of madrassas and that any consideration of this would have to include all supplementary schools. To focus only on madrassas would appear discriminatory and could reinforce unhelpful stereotypes. Mr Loughton added "We would want any measures to improve safeguarding in out-of-school provision to be proportionate and not impose additional burdens on the sector as a whole."
The National Secular Society also called on Mr Loughton to implement without delay recommendations made by an official report (accepted by the previous Government in 2010) to extend the ban on physical punishment in schools and other children's settings to supplementary schools, including madrassas. At present, corporal punishment is legal in religious settings, so long as it does not exceed "reasonable chastisement". Mr Loughton has told the National Secular Society that the Government is considering the report's recommendations.
Dr Ghayasuddin Siddiqui is the founder of the Muslim Institute think-tank and he has long campaigned against child abuse within faith-based environments. He has voiced concerns that large numbers of unregulated organisations are opening madrassas across the country - most in mosques but some in garages, abandoned pubs or private homes. He argues that abuse is far too common; "Some kind of system must be put in place to ensure that only teaching takes place there, not sexual or physical abuse."
However, Mohammad Shahid Raza, chairman of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board, which was set up to improve standards in mosques, has said he would prefer the issue dealt with through self-regulation.
Stephen Evans of the National Secular Society, said: "It is clear that the current legal situation leaves children without sufficient protection in madrassas. The warning signs are clear that a soft-touch approach to this issue will only serve to facilitate widespread abuse of children within the Islamic tradition in the UK. There is understandably some reluctance within the community to voice their concerns over child protection. It is therefore important that the Government resists calls for self-regulation and tightens the law in this area to provide the necessary protection for vulnerable children."
The National Secular Society also expressed concerns over the lack of criminal record checks (CRBs) in madrassas. Under current regulations, madrassas and other supplementary schools are encouraged, but not required, to have CRB checks for all their staff members. A recent survey of madrassas revealed that 11 per cent of respondents did not undertake CRB checks on any of their staff. The Government say this loophole will be closing as new legislation (subject to Parliamentary approval of the Protection of Freedoms Bill) will soon require organisations to check that any adult they take on to look after children unsupervised is not barred from working with children.
Listen again: File on 4 – Are children at risk of abuse in Britain's unregulated madrassa schools?
