FAQ's - COPCA

Frequently Asked Questions
Please find listed below Frequently Asked Questions regarding Child Protection. Frequently Asked Questions regarding Criminal Record Bureau checks will be added at a later date.

   Child Protection FAQs:   What is the Catholic Church's policy on the protection of children?   "The Church recognises the personal dignity and rights of children towards whom it has a special responsibility and a duty of care.  The Church, and individual members of it, undertake to do all in their power to create a safe environment for children and to prevent their physical, sexual or emotional abuse.  The Church authorities will liaise closely with statutory agencies to ensure that any allegations of abuse are promptly and properly dealt with, victims supported and perpetrators held to account."   (Recommendation 4 from a Programme for Action: Final Report of the Independent Review on Child Protection in the Catholic Church in England & Wales.  September 2001)   What is A Programme for Action?   A Programme for Action is the Final Report of the Independent Review on Child Protection in the Catholic Church in England & Wales, whose Chairman was the Rt Hon the Lord Nolan.  The Report was published in September 2001.   The Report contains 83 Recommendations with the aim of achieving Recommendation 1:   "The Catholic Church in England & Wales should become an example of best practice in the prevention of child abuse and in responding to it."   What is COPCA (The Catholic Office for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults)?   COPCA is the national office established under Recommendation 16 of A Programme for Action (see question above for further information on this document).   "A National Child Protection Unit (NCPU) should be set up.  It would advise the Conferences of Bishops and Religious on child protection policies and principles, give expert advice and moral support to dioceses and religious orders, collect and disseminate good practice, hold databases of training facilities and other useful information, and maintain the central confidential database of information (see Recommendation 37).  The Unit would liaise with the statutory agencies (including the Criminal Records Bureau) at national level, with professional bodies and leading charitities in the field and with other churches." (Recommendation 16)   Under Recommendation 19 COPCA publishes public Annual Reports (which can be located under the Documents page of this website and provides COPCA Annual Reports for 2002, 2003, 2004 & 2005.)   What does COPCA do?   As set down in A Programme for Action, the tasks of COPCA are to:

  1. advise the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England & Wales and Conference of Religious on child and vulnerable adult protection policies and principles;
  2. give expert advice and moral support to dioceses and religious congregations;
  3. collect and disseminate good practice;
  4. hold databases of training facilities and other useful information;
  5. maintain a central confidential database of information;
  6. liaise with statutory agencies including the Criminal Records Bureau at national level;
  7. liaise with professional bodies and leading charities in the child and vulnerable adult protection fields and with other Churches;
  8. collect data, monitoring that effective arrangements are implemented in dioceses and religious congregations and seeking to secure improvements where necessary;
  9. co-ordinate the development of a single set of national policies for child protection and for the protection of vulnerable adults;
  10. make regular reports to diocesan bishops and religious superiors (congregation leaders) on the effectiveness of arrangements in each diocese and religious congregation; and
  11. make a public annual report to the Bishops' Conference and the Conference of Religious on the overall position in dioceses and in religious congregations regarding the protection of children and vulnerable adults. 

How do I find out who deals with child protection matters in the Catholic Church in England and Wales?  

 

You can contact your local Parish office or Church, or the Diocesan office to find out how to get in touch with the Child Protection Coordinator, Child Protection Officer or Local Child Protection Representative.  Details of your Diocesan Child Protection team can be found via the relevant Diocesan website available under the "Links" page of this website.  

 

The National Policy for Organisational Structures for Child Protection in the Catholic Community in England and Wales gives information about the constitution and membership of the COPCA Management Board, the terms of reference for Child Protection Commissions in Dioceses and Religious Congregations, job descriptions for Child Protection Co-ordinators and Child Protection Officers and job descriptions for Local Child Protection Representatives in parishes and local apostolic works.  The policy also gives information about the process of recruitment and selection to these posts and the training requirements.

 

 

What is child abuse and neglect?

 

Abuse and neglect are forms of maltreatment of a child.  Somebody may neglect or abuse a child by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm.  Children may be abused in a family or in an institutional or community setting.  They can be abused by people they know or by a stranger.  They may be abused by an adult or by a child. 

Definition of "Child"

The legal definition of a child is a young person who has not yet reached their eighteenth birthday (Children Act 1989).

Physical abuse

Physical abuse of a child may include hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning, or scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child.  Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer fabricates the symptoms of, or deliberately causes, ill-health to a child. 

Sexual abuse

Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening.  The activities may involve physical contact including penetrative (e.g. rape, buggery, or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts.  They may include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, pornographic material or watching sexual activities, or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.

Emotional abuse

Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional ill-treatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child's emotional development.  It may involve conveying to children that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate or valued insofar as they meet the needs of another person.  It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children.  These may include interactions that are beyond the child's developmental capability, as well as overprotection and limitation of exploring and learning, or preventing the child participating in normal social interaction. 

It may involve seeing or hearing the ill treatment of another person.  It may involve serious bullying.  It may involve causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger, or the exploitation or corruption of children.  Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of ill-treatment of a child, though it may occur alone. 

Neglect

Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child's basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child's health or development.  Neglect may occur during pregnancy as a result of substance abuse by the mother.  It may involve a parent or carer failing to provide adequate food, clothing and shelter, including exclusion from home or abandonment.  It may involve failure to protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger, failure to ensure adequate supervision including the use of inadequate caretakers or the failure to ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment.  It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child's basic emotional needs. 

(The definitions above are those used in "Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006".  For further information, go to the Every Child Matters website.  See the "Links" page of this website).

 

I am being abused by someone in the Church.  What should I do?   Tell someone as soon as possible.  What you say will be taken seriously.  You can choose who to talk to.  There are some people in the Church who have special child protection jobs; they are called Child Protection Coordinators, Child Protection Officers (at least one in every diocese) or  Local Child Protection Representatives (at least one in every parish).  Details of your Diocesan Child Protection Team can be found via the relevant Diocesan website (available under the "Links"  page of this site).     Alternatively, you may prefer to tell someone in the Church that you already know such as a priest or a youth leader.  They will make sure that you get help.  They need to let one of the above people know that there is a child protection matter to be dealt with.    You can also contact the local Police Child Protection Team or Social Services Child Protection Team in your area.  The telephone numbers for these will be in your local telephone directory or on websites.    It is the policy of the Catholic Church to always inform statutory authorities (Police and Social Services) that abuse has been alleged.  This is done in order to prevent further abuse from happening and to make sure that past abuse is properly dealt with.     I have suffered abuse by someone in the Church in the past.  What should I do?   Understandably, many people find it difficult to tell anyone about the abuse they have suffered.  It may be many years after the event before a disclosure is made, perhaps when the victim is an adult.  Even then, the Church will act.  Tell someone about the abuse.  You will be listened to and what you have to say will be taken seriously.    You can choose who you talk to.  There are some people in the Church who have special child protection jobs; they are called Child Protection Coordinator, Child Protection Officer or Local Child Protection Representative and there is one in every Diocese.  Details of your Diocesan Child Protection Team can be found via the relevant Diocesan website (available under the "Links"  page of this site).    Alternatively, you may prefer to tell someone in the Church that you already know such as a priest or a youth leader.  They will make sure that you get help.  They need to let one of the above people know that there was a child protection matter to be dealt with.    You can also contact the local Police Child Protection Team or Social Services Child Protection Team in your area.  The telephone numbers for these will be in your local telephone directory or on websites.     Do not let the abuser know that you are going to talk to someone about the abuse as they may attempt to interfere in some way.  This could prevent you from getting help for yourself or helping to stop someone else being abused by the same person.   It is the policy of the Catholic Church to always inform statutory authorities (Police and Social Services) that abuse has been alleged.  This is done in order to prevent further abuse from happening and to make sure that past abuse is properly dealt with.     I am worried that a child may be being harmed by someone in a family or household.  What should I do?   Report the matter to the Police or local Social Services Department whose telephone number will be in your local phone book or on a Police or Local Authority website.     I am worried that a child may be being abused by a member of the Clergy or Religious, or by an employee or volunteer within the Catholic Church.  What should I do?   Immediately inform the Local Child Protection Representative for your parish.  If you are unable to contact them, inform the Child Protection Co-ordinator / Child Protection Officer for your Diocese or Religious Congregation.  Details of your Diocesan Child Protection team can be found via the relevant Diocesan website available under the "Links" page of this website.       What will happen when I inform someone that a child is being abused by someone working for the Church?   It is the policy of the Catholic Church in England and Wales to ensure that all allegations of abuse are referred immediately to the Police and Social Services Departments who are responsible for investigating those allegations.  We do this in the interests of children to make sure that all information available is shared with those with the legal responsibility and professional training to investigate and also to ensure that there can be no possible suspicion of a cover-up by the Church.  In cases where the Statutory Authorities decide that they will not, or cannot investigate, but concerns remain about the safety of children and young people, enquiries will be made by those with responsibility for child protection within the Church.    In all cases, the safety and welfare of children and young people are the first consideration.  Where allegations of abuse are made, it is the policy of the Church to remove the person accused from any role that brings them into contact with children and young people, while investigations or enquiries are going on, in order to find out what is the best course of action to take to protect children.      What about confidentiality?
 
All information connected with a child protection matter is confidential between the agencies working together to protect children and young people.  No information is shared with any person who does not need to know it for the purposes of protecting children.
 
When the Church is told about child abuse, the victim is supported to tell the Police and Social Services what has happened.  The reason for sharing information with the Statutory Authorities is to prevent further abuse and to try to make sure that something is done about the abuse that is alleged to have happened.  If the person who has suffered abuse does not want to tell, or cannot tell the Police or Social Services themselves, the Church has a duty to do so for the reasons given above. 
 
An abuser does not have an automatic right to access information that is held about him or her.  The Church will not, for example, let an abuser know who has made allegations about them.      What happens to people working in the Church who are accused of abuse?
 
All concerns and allegations are taken seriously by the Church, whether they relate to Clergy, Religious, lay employees, officials or volunteers.  The precise circumstances differ from case to case, but the following information gives an indication of what happens when an allegation is made.  
  • After consultation with Police and Social Services, if the person accused of abuse is a member of the Clergy or a Religious Congregation, or is a paid worker or a volunteer, that person will be removed from the role that brings them into contact with children and young people.  It is important to acknowledge that these actions are taken without prejudice and do not automatically indicate that a person accused of abuse is guilty.  Such actions are precautions.  Final judgements are made following the completion of enquiries.  It is possible that someone accused of abuse may be reintegrated to their role, depending on the circumstances of the case.
  • Information about alleged abuse is shared with the Police and Social Services as they have a statutory responsibility to investigate child abuse allegations. 
  • Enquiries will be made to find out if there is evidence to support the allegation.  Sometimes people accused of abuse are arrested and after full investigations, some may be prosecuted.  
  • The Church has a duty of care towards all of its members and will consider what support a person accused of abuse may need. 
  • In seeking to meet the support needs of people accused of abuse, the Church will strive to minimise risks to children and young people and will use a written agreement called a "Covenant of Care" to make clear what conditions and restrictions apply to the accused person, as well as what support will be made available.  
  • In cases where the allegation was malicious, an accused person can expect this to be publicly acknowledged to set the record straight. 
What if the person accused of abuse is dead?   Even if information about abuse in a Church setting relates to an accused person who is dead, the Church will take this seriously and follow it up.  It is still important for such information to be shared with Police and Social Services as it could be relevant to other enquiries.    The Church also has a responsibility to respond to the support needs of anyone who has been abused as it may be possible to help them.      How can people who have abused within the Church be prevented from abusing children in other organisations?   When the Church receives information that someone has abused a child within a Church setting, it has responsibility to help prevent that person from abusing children in other organisations.  The Church will make sure that Police and Social Services are informed about alleged abuse.  In some cases, abusers will be prosecuted.    In every circumstance permitted by law, the Church refers names of people accused of child abuse within a Church setting to the "Protection of Children Act List" (known as the PoCA List).  Volunteers as well as employees and office holders are reported in circumstances where the "employer" has dismissed a person, would have considered dismissing him or her, or has transferred him or her to a post away from children as a result of allegations made.   When someone applies for a job or volunteer position involving children or young people, the organisation that is recruiting must make checks through the Criminal Records Bureau before a person can be appointed.  These checks reveal information held on the PoCA List and indicate that someone is unsuitable for work with children.  The effect of inclusion on the PoCA List is that individuals may not be employed in a child care post within a child care organisation.    Other organisations should also have regard to this List when considering appointment to a post that involves contact with children.      What does the Catholic Church do to prevent child abuse from taking place?   The Catholic Church regards prevention as the top priority and has policies and practices to minimise the opportunity for abuse (Recommendation 2, A programme for Action).      The National Policy for Creating a Safe Environment for Children and Young People in the Catholic Church, (available from the Documents page of this website) contains detailed guidance based on the principles of "Safe From Harm": A Code of Practice for Safeguarding the Welfare of Children in Voluntary Organisations in England and Wales" (Home Office, 1993) and provides the policy statements, a section on choosing employees and volunteers, training and managing them and managing the work of the organisation.    In addition to this policy, all those working with children and young people and those working with vulnerable adults are required to undergo Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Disclosures through COPCA, which acts as a Registered Body.  Policies, Procedures and Codes of Practice for Criminal Records Bureau Disclosures (available from the Documents page of this website) describe the process by which this is undertaken and the requirements of recruitment and selection under the CRB system for those who need Criminal Records Bureau Disclosures.      How can the Church stop people who want to abuse children from joining in activities that give them access to children?   The Church has policies and procedures that offer protection to children and young people; these include standards for safe recruitment to paid and unpaid posts.  There are job or role descriptions with clear roles and responsibilities, application forms for roles or posts, a requirement for written references, interviews of candidates and processing of Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks.  All of these play a part in ensuring the selection of people who are safe to work in the Church.    In each Diocese or Religious Congregation there is a Child Protection Coordinator or Child Protection Officer.  In Dioceses there are also Local Child Protection Representatives.  These posts exist to make sure that the Church's national child protection policies and procedures are implemented at local level.    The Church has also developed policies and procedures that offer guidance to Clergy and Religious and paid and volunteer workers for example, about appropriate conduct when working with children or running activities for them, (National Policy for Creating a Safe Environment for Children and Young People in the Catholic Church in England and Wales - available from the Documents section of this website).  This indicates standards that are expected and acts as a deterrent to people who do not wish to uphold them.  There is a Code of Conduct for adults involved in contact with children and young people that can be displayed publicly (see Section A of the policy).    The National Policy for Responding to Allegations of Child Abuse in the Catholic Community, (available from the Documents section of this website) contains measures to ensure removal of people who are the subject of allegations from posts or roles or to restrict their activities so as to ensure that they have no unsupervised access to children and young people pending the outcome of investigations and enquiries.  These steps are taken as a precaution and do not mean that the person is believed at that time to be guilty of the alleged abuse.  Long term removal from ministry is an option and is used in appropriate circumstances.    There is a National Policy for Independent Risk Assessment which sets standards and provides a basis on which the Church can make informed decisions about an individual's access to children in Church settings or roles.  Risk assessments are also used to help formulate an appropriate plan to manage any identified risks.    All Catholics have a right to receive the Sacraments and participate in the life of the Church.  However, for those who are known to present a risk to children, it is necessary to ensure that these rights do not interfere with the safety of children.  The national policy which frames the Church's commitment to supporting victims of abuse and people accused of abuse (Healing the Wound - National Policy for the Catholic Church in England and Wales for the Support of Those Who Have Suffered Abuse and Those Accused of Abuse - listed as the "Support Policy" on the Documents section of this website) provides guidance on how to manage the needs of the accused to continue to practice their faith as members of the Church whilst also ensuring that protection of children and young people is the foremost consideration.  This policy contains a structure for a "Covenant of Care" that is used to make clear what restrictions are being imposed to protect children and young people.    The Church has a National Policy on Supply Priests and Testimonials of Suitability (available from the Documents section of this website) that applies to Clergy and Religious seeking to do supply work.  This policy also covers priests and religious entering this country from abroad and aims to screen people seeking to work here so that any concerns are identified before they arrive.  Entry will not be allowed if references are not satisfactory.      How does the Church support those who have suffered abuse?    In the past there have been people who experienced abuse by Church personnel and who found the response of the Church to be inadequate and uncaring.  The Church is committed to continuing to learn how to respond in a supportive and healing way to the needs of those who have suffered abuse.    The Church has a "National Policy for the Support of Those Affected by Abuse in a Church Context" (listed as "Support Policy" available from the Documents Section of this website).  This policy embodies the pastoral responsibility of the Church towards those affected by abuse and seeks to ensure that the support needs of all those affected by abuse are effectively addressed.   The policy contains a "Charter for Those Who Have Experienced Abuse within the Church" (Appendix B).  The support offered includes a named point of contact; protection from further abuse; an opportunity to receive social, emotional, spiritual or practical support appropriate to identified needs.        What support is provided to those accused of abuse who are Clergy or Religious?   The Church's policy "Healing the Wound - National Policy for the Support of Those Who Have Suffered Abuse and Those Accused of Abuse"  (which is listed as Support Policy and available on the Documents Section of this website) includes guidance on supporting Clergy and Religious.    The Bishop or Religious Leader is responsible for pastoral care for the accused.  The Church will appoint a Support Facilitator.  Those accused of abuse will receive support using the Covenant of Care for Clergy and Religious which is contained in "Healing the Wound".  This is a written agreement which ensures that a Support Facilitator offers advice about sources of help; access to legal or Canonical representation; emotional, spiritual or practical support; regular time to meet and information about child protection concerns.      What other policies has the Catholic Church agreed for the protection of children on a national basis?   Organisational Structure for Child Protection; Responding to Allegations; Independent Risk Assessment; Creating a Safe Environment; Healing the Wound; Support for Those Who Have Suffered Abuse and Those Accused of Abuse Principles for Speaking with Adult Survivors of Sexual abuse; Policy on Supply Clergy and Testimonial of Suitability; Guidance on Photographic Displays of Children and Young People; Child Protection Issues; Foreign Religious Communities; CBCEW Policy on Priority CRB Checks; Definition of Active Ministry.   All policies are available and downloadable from the Documents section of this website.                                          

[ Back ]