Faith-based organisations need to address issues of power dynamics, familiarity, concerning behaviour and judgement to help young people feel safe and prevent child abuse, according to new Australian Catholic University research released in the lead-up to National Child Protection Week which was held from 4-10 September.

The Institute of Child Protection Studies, which conducted the research, has also called on clergy and religious leaders at youth-serving organisations to ask young people directly what safety means to them, how they perceive risk, and what they need from adults to feel safe.

“We think we know what they want, but we haven’t asked them,” ICPS senior research officer Douglas Russell said.

“What adults perceive as safe is not the same as how children and young people perceive safety. For adults it’s about kids being safe, but when young people were asked about it, it was also about feeling safe.”

The Safeguarding in Church: Children and young people’s perceptions of safety in religious and other faith-based settings study involved focus groups with children aged 11 to 17 from two youth-serving organisations of different Christian denominations.

It identified four themes linked to children’s sense of safety: power, familiarity, concerning behaviour and judgement.

Power dynamics in religious organisations impacted on safety with young people feeling like they could not refuse requests made by adults. And while misuse of a trusted relationship could facilitate abuse, a lack of familiarity was also found to make young people feel unsafe.

“It’s a two-edged sword. We know that to become familiar without balancing oversights you can end up with grooming, but young people tell us without familiarity and comfort with people they don’t feel safe either,” ICPS director Professor Daryl Higgins said.

Read more via the ACU website.