This work has been conducted within the Christian faith community and thus, represents only this faith context. Accordingly, it is research with a specific group. The work would usefully be expanded to other faith contexts.

Cases of child abuse linked to faith or belief (CALFB) continue to be documented. However, there is limited research and understanding of CALFB. Further, there is a lack of clarity of definition. These factors then impact upon effective practice. Recognising this, the National Working Group for CALFB called for research on which to develop evidence‐based practice. This paper reports on key findings from a mixed‐method online survey which was completed by 1361 participants from a range of practitioner and community groups. The participants identified the importance of policy and multiagency working in this area, but they acknowledged the complexity and challenges associated with developing and implementing good practice. Recommendations from the study include a review of relevant policy to evaluate its application to CALFB, the development of faith literacy training for frontline practitioners and the creation of a space in which statutory, faith and community groups can dialogue. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Messages Frontline workers express a lack of understanding and experience of child abuse linked to faith or belief (CALFB), and all require specific training. There is a need for faith literacy training and a space for statutory and faith‐based communities to dialogue in order to build trust, formulate policy and share good practice. Policy around CALFB needs to be formulated and translated into practice.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to report the findings from a study exploring the understanding of vulnerability and adult safeguarding within Christian faith based settings. The article concludes with recommendations for practitioners involved in safeguarding adults in faith based Christian settings.Design/methodology/approach -The paper considers a survey (n=3182) into understanding of vulnerability and adult safeguarding for individuals who attend Church regularly or work in a Christian organisationFindings -This paper is the first to be undertaken with a UK sample and highlights a range of factors informing adult safeguarding practice within Christian organisations. This includes:-complexity linked to understanding vulnerability and its role in safeguarding activity; lack of clarity about what to do with a safeguarding adult concern, and the need for safeguarding training pertinent to the particular needs of faith based settings. Research limitations/implications -As there is currently a dearth of research in this area this paper makes a valuable contribution to the developing knowledge base around safeguarding and vulnerability within faith based organisations.Practical implications -Professionals need to develop increased understanding of the complexities involved in safeguarding activity, and specifically how those working in the wider context of supporting vulnerable adults make sense of safeguarding processes and procedures. Social implications -It is important that all organisations, including faith based settings, workingwith adults have an understanding of their roles and responsibilities with respect to safeguarding those at risk of harm.Originality -This paper is the first UK study to consider safeguarding adults at risk of harm in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 ) and 'adults at risk of harm' which have been used interchangeably within adult safeguarding practice. This paper will focus on some of the complexity which impacts upon understandings of vulnerability and adults of risk of harm within Christian faith based settings.It is anticipated that future work will expand into other faith groups. DefinitionsAs our understanding of safeguarding adults has developed the terms and definitions used to describe adults who are or may be at risk of abuse or harm have similarly changed.Under the Care Act 2014 and the accompanying Care and Support Statutory Guidance (2014:13-14) the concept of promoting wellbeing for adults includes 'protection from abuse and neglect'.Whereas in the safeguarding arena for children there has been inter-agency guidance since the late 1990's, the latest version being Working Together to Safeguard Children (2013), there has not been any similar multi-agency safeguarding guidance related to adult protection on a statutory footing.Under the Care Act 2014 local authorit...

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