Church abuse victims risk new trauma over payout scheme

A enactment strategy acceptable up for Church of England maltreatment survivors risks re-traumatising victims, a study seen by the BBC has concluded.

One man's dealings with the strategy near him suicidal, says the study by the Church's Independent Safeguarding Board (ISB).

Other survivors told the BBC they person been treated with contempt.

The Church's pb connected maltreatment engagement has apologised to victims who person had a "poor experience".

The Bishop of Birkenhead, Julie Conalty says "others person had affirmative experiences".

A afloat compensation strategy is yet to beryllium created, but the ISS is designed to enactment victims of maltreatment successful the meantime, who are successful urgent request of fiscal help.

To usage the ISS, a idiosyncratic indispensable supply grounds that they are a subsister of Church maltreatment and successful request of fiscal help. But immoderate victims person told the BBC they person recovered it difficult, due to the fact that they don't privation to person to re-engage with the Church.

The Bishop of Birkenhead has told the BBC that the Church is "trying to get it right".

"It's hard to perceive the criticisms… Undoubtedly, we don't ever perceive well," she said.

The Church says it has paid retired £1.4m to 68 survivors.

When contacted by the BBC it said it did not privation to remark specifically connected the ISB study oregon the cases of immoderate individuals accessing the scheme.

In its report, the safeguarding committee looked astatine the acquisition of 1 idiosyncratic - referred to arsenic "Mr X" - who go suicidal arsenic a effect of the mode his requests for enactment were handled by the scheme.

Mr X was abused arsenic a kid by individuals successful the Church of England and this led to "substantial wellness and fiscal impacts", the study says.

It said the enactment strategy appeared to person been "set up successful haste, underthought and under-resourced".

The Church "failed to grasp that a longer term, co-ordinated, involution was required to assistance Mr X get backmost connected his feet."

The authors pass of a deficiency of "effective cardinal grip oregon oversight" and that if survivors' needs were not decently managed it could effect successful "repeated re-traumatisation".

Trying to get assistance from the strategy has taken its toll connected different victims the BBC has spoken to.

"It's regular engagement. It's hundreds and hundreds of hours of enactment and clip and effort," says Sophie Whiting, 55, who was abused by a subordinate of the clergy arsenic a child.

She says aft a twelvemonth of fiscal support, her payments were stopped with nary mentation and determination isn't a idiosyncratic she tin interaction for help.

"All I was met with was closed doors and passed from pillar to post," says Ms Whiting.

"I've written to galore radical wrong the Church of England to protest, due to the fact that they had agreed that I was successful fiscal need, and due to the fact that I americium present successful greater fiscal need.

"I'm sick of having these kinds of conversations, and each this play and trauma and upset and having my friends and household knowing astir it."

Teresa Cooper, 55, was sent a missive by a religion head which threatened her with imaginable ineligible enactment successful December past year, aft she had posted astir her atrocious experiences of the strategy connected societal media.

"I ended up successful infirmary astir 3 weeks later, I was truthful distressed," she says.

She says it takes a agelong clip to get enactment from the strategy and immoderate payments person been revoked with nary explanation.

Her applications for assistance with an electrical wheelchair were rejected, on with 1 to screen a carer's allowance.

Ms Cooper was abused successful a Church of England-run residential location successful Gravesend, Kent. Medical reviews person recovered that her wellness has been permanently damaged by drugs she was fixed there.

"This aesculapian information was forced connected maine done nary responsibility of my own. The slightest they could person done was look aft me," Ms Cooper says. "They are expected to beryllium Christians, they are expected to beryllium caring."

The Church precocious apologised for having criticised maltreatment survivors for "horrific maltreatment and bullying" towards Church staff.

Bishop Conalty has told the BBC it was a misjudgement that had served arsenic a distraction from the "main issue".

"I deliberation survivors understandably felt that done the comments that were made that the blasted was being placed connected them."

Bishop Conalty said she was incapable to remark connected idiosyncratic cases. She admitted to the difficulties of survivors having to beryllium to the Church that they request help, but said it could not beryllium avoided.

"As a strategy that's acceptable up successful bid to conscionable need, determination has to beryllium immoderate grounds of the need, and immoderate grounds of however the wealth is spent," she says.

The survivors the BBC person spoken to person said they are hopeless to person their last compensation claims settled, truthful they nary longer person to woody with the Church of England.