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The Religious Sector, Violence and Child Abuse

This is a two-part webinar series hosted on different days. Information on each webinar is below.

Part 1 – Understanding Spiritual Abuse and Religious Grooming

This webinar explores the unique role and mandate of the religious sector in preventing and addressing violence and child abuse – the potential to harness as well as the need to address barriers within religious settings which can perpetrate or enable such violence. This will include an introductory discussion on spiritual abuse and religious grooming – tools of power, control and manipulation used by perpetrators in religious settings which are often different from those used in secular settings. How these tools, combined with often religious institutional cultures of secrecy, systematic cover-ups, and widespread protection of those who abuse children are explored and implications for abuse prevention and intervention are introduced.

What will I learn?

  • What interpersonal violence is – the different settings it can occur in, by whom and the types of abuse.
  • The unique role and mandate of the religious sector and the implications of this in preventing and addressing violence and abuse.
  • The potential of religious institutions, communities and congregations to help prevent and address violence and abuse, as well as the barriers which can perpetuate or enable abuse.
  • What spiritual abuse and religious grooming are and what to look out for.
  • The impact of spiritual abuse, religious grooming and religious institutional child abuse on victims.

Who is this course for?

This course is for all those in the religious sector who work with children and young people.

Key Information

Format: PowerPoint presentation with small group work activities and discussion
Delivery: Webinar (virtual)
Duration: 1.5 hours (with short break and Q&A’s included)
Certificate: Certificate issued via email upon completion of course
Price: Contact us for a price for your organisation

Part 2 – Implications for Policy and Practice

This webinar builds on webinar one and explores what is required of the New Zealand religious sector to harness their potential to help prevent and address violence and child abuse, including preventing spiritual abuse and religious grooming. This webinar will outline the need for religious institutions, communities and congregations to develop and implement safeguarding and child protection frameworks, and address institutional cultures and practices which can perpetuate violence and abuse. Policy and practice implications for the New Zealand government as well as the wider violence and child abuse prevention and intervention sector will be also be introduced.

What will I learn?

  • Actions the New Zealand Government can take to ensure the religious sector is part of an integrated joined up approach to violence and abuse prevention and intervention.
  • The need to broaden New Zealand legal defintions of violence and abuse to include spiritual abuse and for these to be applied into data collection, policy and practice.
  • What religious institutions, communities and congregations need to do to create child-safe organisations.
  • What the wider violence and abuse prevention sector needs to know when working with victms and perpetrators of violence and abuse who affiliate with a religion.

Who is this course for?

This course is for all those in the religious sector who work with children and young people.

Key Information

Format: PowerPoint presentation with small group work activities and discussion
Delivery: Webinar (virtual)
Duration: 2 hours (with short break and Q&A’s included)
Certificate: Certificate issued via email upon completion of course
Price: Contact us for a price for your organisation

“Well-researched, backed by data, accessible and understandable.”

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Safeguarding Children

Charities Number: CC49059
NZBN: 9429043276134

To request permission to use or replicate Safeguarding Children content please contact us.

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