On Wednesday 5 October 2023, the Church of England published a report into its handling of allegations of past abuse called PCR2 or ‘Past Cases Review 2’. The overall purpose of the review was to identify both good practice and institutional failings in relation to how allegations of abuse have been handled in the past. As well as providing recommendations to the Church of England that will lead to improvements in its response and overall safeguarding working practices now and in the future.
The Rt Revd Graham Usher, Bishop of Norwich said;
“The Diocese of Norwich is committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults to worship in its churches and grow in the Christian faith safely. I take that commitment very seriously. Likewise, with the learning from the Past Cases Review 2 which has provided us with an opportunity to take a careful and considered look at what we have done well, where we may have failed, and where we can do better in enabling survivors’ voices to be heard and to receive appropriate support.”
Each Diocese in England was asked to review its own files and produce a local report. The Past Cases Review 2 (PCR2) in the Diocese of Norwich was completed in 2021, specifically after taking into account the voices of survivors which helped to shape how the review was conducted.
During that time a dedicated telephone helpline was available which operated independently from the church. The Diocese of Norwich continues to work with Safe Spaces, an independent service offering support to survivors of church-related abuse, whether or not a report has been made. It is free to access via telephone, email or web-chat
- Tel: 0300 303 1056 (answerphone available outside of opening times)
- Email: safespaces@splitz.org
- WebChat – via the Safe Spaces website
The Diocese of Norwich has a dedicated safeguarding team who provide training and support to all clergy, staff, church workers and volunteers. You can find out more about our safeguarding support here: https://donstg.wpengine.com/safeguarding/
As part of PCR2, each Diocese published a local executive summary of the work carried out.
You can read the national Church of England report here: Past Cases Review 2 | The Church of England and the national press release here
Please find the Diocese of Norwich local executive summary here: Diocese of Norwich Past Cases Review 2 Executive Summary
- If you have been affected by this report in any way and you would like to speak to someone independently of the church, please contact Safe Spaces through the information above.
- If you are in the Diocese of Norwich and you have a question about safeguarding or you wish to report a safeguarding concern immediately: Contact our Safeguarding team — Diocese of Norwich
- If you are a journalist, please contact the Communications Team here: Contact the team — Diocese of Norwich