Practitioner and communities’ awareness of CALFB: Child abuse linked to faith or belief

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.

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“…For a detailed discussion on the issues of the definition and understanding of CALFB, see Oakley et al . ().…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Safeguarding Children who are Exposed to Abuse Linked to Faith or Belief

Kinmond

Humphreys²,

Dioum³

2019

Child Abuse Review

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“…This is particularly the case given the presence of labelling, stigmatisation and alienation of Muslim communities (Taylor, 2020). Oakley et al (2017) draw attention to the need for increased awareness and training of child abuse linked to faith or belief (CALFB) for front line services. They emphasise the need for a multi-disciplinary approach.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“I thought in order to get to God I had to win their approval”: a qualitative analysis of the experiences of Muslim victims abused by religious authority figures

Chowdhury

Winder

Blagden

et al. 2021

Journal of Sexual Aggression

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The abuse of individuals by religious authority figures has generated considerable political, civic and media attention. To date, much of this focus has been on Catholic and Anglican priests, although instances in the Buddhist community have also emerged. This paper presents an analysis of the experiences of individuals (n = 6) who were victims of abuse by Imams (Muslim leaders) and/or Muslim faith teachers. Participants were interviewed and their accounts analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). This paper presents two superordinate themes that emerged from the rich data set: (i) Toxicity of silence and (ii) Barriers to the acknowledgement of abuse. Findings and implications of the research are discussed in relation to facilitating the reporting of abuse perpetrated by religious authority figures in the Muslim community. The authors argue that the difficulties for victims in reporting abuse have exacerbated the impact of the abuse, affecting their wellbeing and their relationships with their families and their faith.

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“…We are talking here about sets of beliefs that involve 'possession' by 'evil spirits' and the need to 'expunge' the child of these evil spirits. The practice of branding a child a 'witch' and forcing them to endure a series of often painful and emotionally distressing exorcisms, is widespread among certain communities that have strong spiritual belief systems (Oakley et al, 2017). What can be interpreted as metaphorical thinking is involved both in the practice of branding a child a 'witch' and in the abuse that ensues.…”

Section: 'I Experience It As Something Else'mentioning

confidence: 99%

Literal or metaphorical? Conventional or creative?

Turner

Littlemore

2023

MSW

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Metaphor has long been considered a ‘way in’ to people’s experiences, with metaphor analysis being used to gain insights into a range of psychological and physiological phenomena. However, a number of challenges arise when analysing metaphor in such contexts. We reflect on the challenges we have encountered in our research into intensely emotional and/or personal experiences related to bereavement and religious belief. Both areas showcase metaphor operating in the ‘liminal spaces’ of human experience. The spaces between life and death, personhood and non-personhood, and belief and non-belief prove rich ground for metaphor, but the qualities of these metaphors are as complex and elusive as the concepts they are being used to describe. We explore how metaphoricity in general, and creative use of metaphor in particular, in these contexts are flexible phenomena, opening up new questions as to what ‘counts’ as a (creative) metaphor. We propose three levels at which people use or experience metaphor, show how these interact, and propose a number of methodological factors to be taken into consideration when conducting metaphor research in such complex areas of human experience.

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Practitioner and communities’ awareness of CALFB: Child abuse linked to faith or belief

Cited by 10 publications

References 7 publications

Safeguarding Children who are Exposed to Abuse Linked to Faith or Belief

Safeguarding Children who are Exposed to Abuse Linked to Faith or Belief

“I thought in order to get to God I had to win their approval”: a qualitative analysis of the experiences of Muslim victims abused by religious authority figures

Literal or metaphorical? Conventional or creative?

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