This course is for any professional or volunteer who engages with children in a religious setting. For those outside the religious sector but who work in violence and abuse prevention and intervention, this course will provide a greater understanding of the nuanced nature of violence and abuse in religious settings and in the lives of those who affiliate with a religion.

Through the Safeguarding Children in the Religious Sector course you will learn what you can do to help create a child-safe organisation and gain the knowledge and skills to identify, respond and report child abuse and neglect. Help contribute to creating positive change for the children and young people of Aotearoa New Zealand.

What will I learn?

• Understanding interpersonal violence – different settings it occurs in, by whom and types of abuse. This includes spiritual abuse.

• Understand why protecting children and young people from abuse and neglect is important.

• Learn the unique role and mandate of the religious sector and the implications of this in the preventing and responding to violence and child abuse.

• Consider the potential of religious institutions, communities, and congregations to help prevent and respond to violence and child abuse.

• Consider the structures and cultures within religious settings which can enable violence and child abuse.

• Learn what religious institutions, communities and congregations need to do to create child-safe settings.

• Be able to recognise signs of potential abuse and neglect.

• Know how to respond, for example, be able to handle a ‘disclosure’ (where a child or young person gives you signs, they are at risk).

• Learn how to report your concerns, and to whom, and how to document them.

Who is this course for?

This e-learning is for all those in the religious sector who work with children and young people.

COURSE ACCESS: 30 days

Group training and content warning

It is not recommended to complete this eLearning in a group environment as some course content may be triggering for individuals who may have experienced childhood trauma. We recommend wearing headphones. To ensure your wellbeing, trigger warnings are given throughout our course with support guidance provided.

What do our learners say?

• "I am always looking for professional development that can compliment my team, considering the demanding nature of our work in response family and sexual harm. This course is so smooth and approachable. The references are amazing and a good reminder to those who have been in the game a long time and need to sharpen up their fundamentals. The different ways to interact throughout the course kept it engaging too."
• "Access to this area of learning has previously not been part of our standards which is our lapse and now we have the opportunity to rectify this gap."
• "It's an important course so others are made aware of this and have better understanding and are able to apply these practices at work when needed and open eyes to those that shut their eyes to the problem."