Mental health services are recognised to have an important role in responding to domestic abuse, but approach across the UK's National Health Service (NHS) is inconsistent. We describe an example of taking a whole- organisation approach to responding to domestic abuse in one NHS mental health foundation trust.

This article is based on an Ecclesiastical Law Society London Lecture delivered on 17 November 2021. It builds on a previous lecture entitled ‘Safeguarding in church and state over the last 50 years: “from Ball and Banks to Beech via Bell”’, which also formed the basis of an article published in this Journal in 2020. That article, among other things, identified a number of significant cases of sexual abuse by clergy which were/are the subject of ‘lessons learned’ reviews and concluded by suggesting how investigation and fact-finding might take place in the future, independent of the bishops, but under the supervision of a ‘judge’, and argued that effective risk assessments could only be based on findings of fact. The author was subsequently asked to chair a working party for the Ecclesiastical Law Society aimed at addressing how the Clergy Disciplinary Measure 2003 (‘CDM’) should be reformed. This article now deals with events that have occurred since, from the publication of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA)'s investigative reports into the Anglican Church (inter alia), the Lambeth group's proposals for reform of the CDM, through to General Synod's responses to both sets of recommendations. It also surveys in some detail the approach the church has taken to the assessment of risk within its safeguarding policy in recent years, as well as its historical approach to clergy discipline. The article concludes by drawing some threads together as a result of the author's own work and research into these two subjects over the past two years, and finishes by suggesting some possible directions in which the church ought now to move.

This paper examines the current legal framework in relation to minors who are the recipients of exorcism. Such individuals are ordinarily doubly marginalised, by virtue of their membership of a minority religious or cultural community and their disempowered position as children. This piece aims to assess whether the current arrangements strike an appropriate balance between respecting personal and collective autonomy, as well as protecting vulnerable young people, paying particular attention to the impact of their intersectional position and multiple marginalising factors at play. It seeks to define exorcism and emphasise the very diverse settings in which it arises within twenty-first-century England and Wales. It examines proposals being made for a blanket prohibition in relation to children, considering both the desirability and viability of a ban. It also highlights that exorcism is not the only context in which religious minors will find themselves in a position of multiple marginalisation, and explores what debates in this area might reveal about the wider operation of Article 9 and the ECHR.

Financial abuse is a significant form of elder maltreatment and is frequently ranked in the top two most common forms of abuse perpetration. Despite this, it is under-identified, under-reported and under-prosecuted. Financial institutions, such as banks, are important environments for identifying and responding to the financial abuse of older people. Traditionally, banks have not always been part of inter-sectorial responses to financial abuse, yet are important stakeholders. The aim of this study is to explore perceptions and experiences of financial abuse in five national banks. Data were collected from 20 bank managers and five members of the National Safeguarding Committee in the Republic of Ireland. Using thematic analysis, four themes were identified: defining a vulnerable adult; cases of financial abuse of vulnerable adults; case responses to financial abuse of vulnerable adults; and contextual issues. The data demonstrate the multiplicity of manifestations and the complexity of case investigation and management. Findings point to the need to enhance banks’ responses, through additional education and training, and promote integrated inter-sectorial collaboration. In addition, a change in societal beliefs is needed regarding financial entitlement, responding to ageism, public awareness of the consequences of financial decisions and types of financial abuse, as well as ensuring such crimes are addressed within the legal system.

This article tells the story of initiatives of the Instruments of Communion to enhance the safety of all persons within the Anglican Communion over the past three decades. These Initiatives have taken place against the backdrop of the significant evidence that has come to light in recent years of abuse being perpetrated by clergy and lay leaders against children, young people and vulnerable adults in the provinces. It describes the actions of the Lambeth Conference, the Primates’ Meeting, the Anglican Consultative Council, and the work of the Anglican Communion Safe Church Commission.

In the light of the abuse crisis in the Roman Catholic Church, several inquiries have given recommendations on what should be done in the future, to ensure that such crimes are dealt with both civilly and canonically. In 2017, the Royal Commission of Australia produced a number of specific points to be addressed. Two years later, Pope Francis introduced guidelines to be observed universally whenever cases are reported, and these addressed many of the commission's recommendations. A question remains as to whether these have gone too far or far enough.

This article describes the changes in criminal law and procedure that the author saw take place during 50 years of practice, turning a criminal justice system in which it was difficult to prosecute cases involving multiple child witnesses into one much better adapted to cases alleging sexual assault and the needs of vulnerable witnesses. The article reviews, decade by decade, the major developments in people's understanding and perception of the prevalence of physical and sexual abuse, touching on a number of high-profile events. It traces the development of the Church of England's safeguarding policy, noting how it tracks the development of secular policies. In parallel it identifies a number of significant cases of sexual abuse by clergy which were/are the subject of ‘lessons learned’ reviews. A note of caution is however sounded arising from the cases of Carl Beech and Bishop Bell, in particular the danger of not following well-established investigative procedures but jumping to judgement. The article concludes by suggesting how investigation and fact-finding might take place in the future, independent of the bishops, but under the supervision of a ‘judge’, and argues that effective risk assessments can only be based on findings of fact.

While the English Church shared in celebrating the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, not least its own part in gaining those rights for everyone, the Church of England was reversing the principle that people are innocent until proved guilty. Such is the pressure of today's concern about child abuse, historic and present. As evidence mounts of the injustices done by false accusations against some high-profile public figures, we are less aware of the toll on other individuals whose turmoil does not hit the headlines. Those teaching and caring are often targeted for claims, and the Church of England has been toughening its procedures.

This article is based on research into early intervention and safeguarding work with young fathers. It draws on a study of the Family Nurse Partnership (FNP), a home visitation service in the UK that is offered to vulnerable teenage mothers. The research investigated whether and how such early intervention work was done with the fathers of these babies. Three broad patterns of engagement emerged from the research: (1) where fathers were fully engaged with the service straightaway and the relationship with the family nurse deepened over time; (2) where fathers were partially engaged with the service; and (3) where fathers were resentful at the outset and never stopped being resistant and sometimes hostile towards intervention. Within these broad patterns several nuanced aspects of professional-father relationships are identified, which are the product of the interaction of several factors. Some general implications for early intervention and safeguarding work with fathers and their babies are drawn out.

Elder abuse is a ‘social problem’, as illustrated by the production of policy documents and legislation that define and revise the scope and nature of the problem. This article synthesises and discusses the policy documents and legal changes that have taken place in England since 2000, when the first policy guidance to address adult safeguarding as a whole was produced. The focus of this article is on particular locations, namely care home and hospital settings, and the applicable policy and legislation. The policy documents and legal changes identified are analysed using Blumer's five phases of policy implementation and Matland's ambiguity-conflict matrix to explore their implications for policy implementation and coherence. The analysis suggests that responses to elder abuse have created different kinds of ambiguity and conflict, requiring both top-down and bottom-up policy interventions.

Arrangements for protecting children in organisations, such as using criminal records, in staff recruitment (vetting), and barring certain individuals from certain posts, have undergone significant expansion in the United Kingdom since the turn of the millennium. This has happened concurrently with the devolving of political powers to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The purpose of this article is to explore aspects of the possibilities of, and limits to, devolution by refracting it through the lens of vetting and barring policy in England and Scotland from 1997 to 2010. The conclusion is that devolution has enabled differences to emerge within aspects of these policies between Scotland and England, but has had negligible impact on the overall policy agenda of risk management and preventive governance.

Background: The risks of financial exploitation and abuse of people with dementia remain under-researched. Little is known of the views of those responsible for local adult safeguarding systems about prevention and redress. We explore current repertoires of responses of such persons and consider barriers and facilitators to minimizing risks of financial abuse for people with dementia.

Methods: Fifteen qualitative interviews were undertaken with a purposively sampled group of Adult Safeguarding Co-ordinators in England in 2011. Framework analysis delineated themes in the transcripts; these were included in an iteratively developed coding framework.

Results: Five themes were explored: (1) incidence of financial abuse; (2) impact of dementia on safeguarding responses; (3) warning signs of financial abuse, including neglect, unpaid bills, limited money for provisions; (4) encouraging preventive measures like direct debit to pay for bills, advance care plans, appointing Lasting Power of Attorney; and (5) barriers and facilitators in safeguarding, including the practice of financial agencies, cultural barriers, other systemic failures and facilitators. Not all systems of financial proxies are viewed as optimally effective but provisions of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were welcomed and seen as workable.

Conclusions: Healthcare professionals may need to be more alert to the signs and risks of financial abuse in patients with dementia both at early and later stages. Engaging with safeguarding practitioners may facilitate prevention of abuse and effective response to those with substantial assets, but the monitoring of people with dementia needs to be sustained. In addition, professionals need to be alert to new risks from electronic crime. Researchers should consider including financial abuse in studies of elder abuse and neglect.

The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families signifies a major achievement in the development of a coherent approach to promoting the welfare of children while safeguarding them from harm. In this article, the aspirations of the Framework are considered, with particular focus on the challenges posed by the Framework, not only to the practice of social workers but also to the status of the social work profession. The area of professional judgement making is discussed, along with the threats to the effective implementation of the Framework. The author concludes that the Framework could bring about not only a better deal for children and families service users, but a new era of professional respect for social workers.