NEWS REVIEW

Crime Bill includes religious leaders under ‘position of trust’

Recently we’ve seen some significant progress on proposed changes to the law regarding positions of trust in England. The definition of a person in a “position of trust” under English criminal law has been expanded to improve child protection by including religious leaders and sports coaches. The Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Bill, introduced in Parliament in March, would make it illegal for both religious leaders and sports coaches to engage in sexual activity with 16- and 17-year-olds. As part of our commitment to improving safeguarding by informing legislation, last year we worked with parliamentarians to launch the All-Party Parliamentary Group Inquiry Report on Positions of Trust; a report calling for a change in the law to help better protect 16- and 17-year olds from sexual abuse.

The new bill has also been the subject of widespread ‘Kill the Bill’ protests because of its changes to the law around street protests. However, as of writing the Bill is scheduled for a second reading in the House of Lords.

Government lays out plans to protect users online

Social media firms will have to remove harmful content quickly or potentially face multibillion-pound fines under new legislation. The government's Online Safety Bill, announced in the Queen's Speech, comes with a promise of protecting debate. It is "especially" geared at keeping children safe and says "democratically important" content should be preserved. But campaigners say the plans will lead to censorship, while others warn fines do not go far enough. Published in May 2021 the bill imposes a "duty of care" on social media companies, and some other platforms that allow users to share and post material, to remove "harmful content". This can include content that is legal but still judged to be harmful, such as abuse that doesn't reach the threshold of criminality, and posts that encourage self-harm. The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has also developed a new tool for under-18s to report nude photos of themselves online. The head of the IWF, Susie Hargreaves, said the tool was a "world first" and the new tool "will give young people the power, and the confidence, to reclaim these images and make sure they do not fall into the wrong hands online".

Ian Wright: Home Truths 'a lot of my anger was pain and unhappiness'

Ian Wright, the former England and Arsenal footballer, spoke for the first time at length about his experience growing up in an abusive household. In a BBC documentary, Wright considered the lasting trauma of domestic violence and gave an insight into what life is like as a child in a home where abuse is occurring. The 57-year-old also explored how widespread the issue is today. After returning to his childhood home for the first time in 50 years to revisit his past, Wright travelled across the UK to meet other people who have experienced domestic abuse in their childhoods, as well as to meet professionals to talk through his own trauma. Wright discovered how things have changed since he grew up in the 1970s, and he found out how children are supported in the UK today by visiting his former primary school and observing local and charity-led initiatives. Wright told the BBC: “A million kids in the UK are living with domestic abuse and this has to change. I want the conversations within the documentary to allow people to see, and feel, some hope. We can and must break the cycle of abuse.” The documentary is available on BBC iPlayer until early 2022.

Church is entering a season of action on safeguarding, says Gibbs

The Church will continue to “apologise and learn from its failings over safeguarding”, the Bishop of Huddersfield and lead bishop for safeguarding, Dr Jonathan Gibbs said at the General Synod in July. But he promised the that it is now entering “a season of action”. Dr Gibbs presented an update to the Synod of the work being undertaken by the National Safeguarding Team (NST), including policy development, the membership of the new Independent Safeguarding Panel and the national case-management system. He also included a reminder of Thirtyone:eight’s Safeguarding Sunday (this year on 10 October) in the update.

Covid: Social workers fear a 'generation of traumatised children'

A whole generation of children may have been left "traumatised" during the pandemic, social workers have warned. They say a 20% fall in child protection orders in Wales, a figure found by a BBC probe, paints a false picture. Charities and unions fear many of the most vulnerable children across the United Kingdom have slipped under the radar because of lockdown restrictions. There is also concern social care services will face an influx of referrals as those restrictions ease.

Duchess of Cambridge launches 'landmark' centre for childhood

The Duchess of Cambridge has launched her own Centre for Early Childhood, to raise awareness of the importance of early years and help "transform lives". A royal aide said Catherine felt early childhood was the "social equivalent to climate change" but it was not discussed "with the same seriousness". Kensington Palace described the centre as "a landmark step" in her work and the duchess said she wanted to "create a happier, more mentally healthy, more nurturing society.” An aide said the development would shape her future focus as a senior royal.

TOP TWEETS

@JonathanAB1986

@thirtyoneeight thanks to the team for this mornings @CongFed training for ministers. Really helpful, extremely well delivered, interactive and engaging!

@simonbarrington

Excited that this is being published on September 16th.... http://just-leadership. com #JustLeadership @justin_31v8 @thirtyoneeight @SPCKPublishing @TBNUKtv @GLNUKI

@SarahChampionMP

I am delighted & relieved that Child abuse laws to be expanded in England and Wales following years of campaigning by @tracey_crouch @Tanni_GT @NSPCC @thirtyoneeight and myself. Phew!

@bitcni

Delighted to welcome 78 people to #BanTheBox event (28/4) @niacro to look at fair hiring practices for those with criminal records @SaraNsn @Farrans_UKI @MugshotsPrint @theturnaroundproject @BrysonGroup @VolCentre @JobMatch_NI @thirtyoneeight @SonyaBigg

@Rest0red

Thankful for our friends at @thirtyoneeight and their passion to help churches support survivors of domestic abuse. We’re stronger together

@TBNUKtv

Phew! Just finished a fantastic three days of filming eleven episodes of @ just_leadership with @simonbarrington, founder of @Forge_Lead_UK and @justhumphreysuk, CEO of @ thirtyoneeight, with a whole host of insightful guests - coming soon to TBN UK! ������