Courage, Cost and Hope - Past Cases Review
The Church aimed to review all 'safeguarding cases' since 1950. For the purposes of the review, a 'safeguarding concern' was defined as any concern that a child or adult may have been at risk, been suffering or had suffered abuse, or that someone represented a risk of abuse to others.
The review invited anyone from the districts with any knowledge of a previous or current concern, to respond.
The Church commissioned an independent expert who reviewed all the responses and advise the Church on any action that needed to be taken.
The Past Cases Review submissions officially ended on the 24 December 2014. Any past concerns (as with current concerns) should be reported directly to your Regional Officer for Safeguarding.
"The Church needs to be sure that it has revisited cases using the benefit of hindsight, to be sure that no one has mistakenly left situations where vulnerable people may remain at risk. This is a great opportunity to see what went well, as well as to learn from mistakes we may have made, alongside reviewing the safety of past cases."
Elizabeth Hall, Former Safeguarding Adviser (Child& Adult Protection) for the Church of England & the Methodist Church in Britain.
Reflections on the past case review 10 years on
It is now ten years since the Methodist Church produced a report looking at all known cases of abuse from the previous 50 years and committed itself to taking action. Following over 2,500 referrals, many hours of professional casework were undertaken and common themes emerged providing the Church with an action plan to improve and respond appropriately to victims and survivors.
This year, we are sharing monthly reflections on what this has meant for the Church.