On Wednesday 16th September, Leeds Beckett University hosted the second of this year’s in person Faith Based Youth Workers meetings. The topic chosen by the members was forms of abuse specific to faith settings – Spiritual and Ritual abuse, which through the course of the workshop we discovered are often linked to other forms of abuse, financial, forced marriage, sexual, physical, slavery, trafficking … and affect children as well as adults.
The workshop raised our awareness of the rise of this form of abuse, locally, regionally and nationally and the work if the National Working Group against Spiritual and Ritual Abuse (NWG SARA).
- 53% increase in reported faith/spiritual abuse of children over the last 7 years
- Leeds, Bradford, and Kirklees are in the top 10 most-reporting local authorities in the UK in 2024 (out of 317); West Yorkshire accounts for 64% of Yorkshire reports
- Since 2022, spiritual abuse reporting has overtaken FGM and trafficking in volume
- 93% of spiritual abuse victims also experience domestic abuse; 74% are women and girls; 18% involve forced marriage
The timing of the day, fitted well with the updated guidance to schools and educational spaces (youth work) on Keeping Children Safe – as this specifically mentions prejudice-based harm, including racism, faith-based prejudice and other forms of discrimination. The afternoon, was spent exploring what faith-based prejudice looks and feels like for young people and how youth work can support young people and sector partners.
The workshop was insightful, exploring how faith can be used to exploit not just individuals but politics under the guise of help, identifying who might be at risk and why, forms of spiritual and ritual abuse, and gaps in current protections.
If you are interested in learning more, we are happy to share the details for Jordan our great trainer on the day.