Abuse in religious settings: organisational cultures, public policy and survivors' experiences

该项目将是世界上第一个对各种宗教传统中与虐待有关的机构、政策、专业和个人问题进行重大跨学科研究的项目。它还将以幸存者的经历作为调查的基础，在持续关注这种情况下遭受虐待的经历和影响的独特方面以及修复、归还和恢复的过程方面开辟新的天地。该项目将汇集一个与虐待幸存者有广泛联系的经验丰富的多学科研究小组，从而使这一领域的研究发生重大变化。核心项目团队将包括宗教研究方面的高级研究人员、宗教组织中虐待行为的心理、法律的和政策问题专家，以及其他在各种宗教传统中与虐待幸存者合作方面具有丰富经验的人。除了通过一系列传统的学术产出产生新知识并加以传播外，该项目还将为幸存者个人和与他们一起工作的群体、决策者、保护专业人员、宗教界和参与宗教领袖教育和培训的人提供各种其他资源。该项目将导致制作一本具有里程碑意义的关于宗教和虐待的编辑卷，这将成为这一领域的关键参考点，以及其他编辑和撰写的书籍和文章，报告，电影和播客，以及法定和宗教组织领导人和保护工作人员的培训材料。在汇集了一系列的个人在这一领域的专业知识在英国和国际上，该项目还将巩固国家和国际网络，这些网络将在该项目结束后继续开展研究和参与活动。该项目将建立在通过主要国家调查工作产生的关于宗教背景下虐待行为的大量材料的基础上，如皇家机构调查委员会，对儿童性虐待的回应和对儿童性虐待的独立调查（IICSA）。虽然没有确凿的证据表明，虐待行为在宗教组织中比在更广泛的社会中更为普遍，但这些调查借鉴了宗教组织、幸存者和其他利益攸关方提交的大量材料，以及前所未有的对宗教组织记录的查阅，认为宗教组织特有的因素促成了虐待行为发生的条件，并对虐待行为作出了不良的机构反应。由于我们的一些项目小组已经参与了国家虐待调查和其他相关机构的工作，本项目将在这一分析的基础上，更深入地确定宗教组织的文化和结构如何与虐待交织在一起，公共政策和保护做法如何能够最好地应对这些环境中的虐待行为，幸存者的经历在哪些方面是这些宗教环境所特有的。该项目对这一领域的贡献还将来自于它更实质性地参与宗教研究的理论方法和实质性知识，这将为目前这一领域的现有文献（主要是社会科学文献）带来新的视角。

This project will be the first of its kind anywhere in the world to undertake a major inter-disciplinary study of institutional, policy, professional and individual issues in relation to abuse across a wide range of religious traditions. It will also break new ground in paying sustained attention to both distinctive aspects of the experience and effects of abuse in this context - as well as processes of repair, restitution and recovery - using survivor experiences as the basis of its investigation.Structured around seven inter-related pieces of research, the project will constitute a step-change for research in this field by bringing together an experienced multi-disciplinary research team with extensive contacts with survivors of abuse. The core project team will include senior researchers in the study of religion, specialists in psychological, legal and policy issues on abuse in religious organisations, and others with substantial experience of working with survivors of abuse across a range of religious traditions. In addition to generating new knowledge, disseminated through a range of traditional academic outputs, the project will also produce a wide range of other resources for individual survivors and for groups working with them, policy-makers, safeguarding professionals, faith communities and those involved in the education and training of religious leaders. The project will lead to the production of a landmark edited volume on religion and abuse that will become a key point of reference in this field, as well as other edited and authored books and articles, reports, films and podcasts, and training materials for leaders and safeguarding staff in statutory and religious organisations. In bringing together a range of individuals with expertise in this field in the UK and internationally, the project will also consolidate national and international networks which will continue to undertake research and engagement activities beyond the life of this project.The project will build on the substantial body of material on abuse in religious contexts generated through the work of major national inquiries such as the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). Whilst there is no conclusive evidence of abuse being any more prevalent in religious organisations than wider society, these inquiries have drawn on substantial submissions from religious organisations, survivors and other stakeholders, and on unprecedented access to records of religious organisations, to argue that factors specific to religious organisations contribute to conditions in which abuse has taken place and poor institutional responses to abuse are made. With a number of our project team already having been involved in the work of national abuse inquiries and other relevant bodies, this project will build on this analysis to establish in greater depth how the cultures and structures of religious organisations inter-sect with abuse, how public policy and safeguarding practice can best respond to abuse in these settings and what aspects of survivors' experience are particular to these religious contexts. The project's contribution to this field will also result from its more substantial engagement with theoretical approaches and substantive knowledge from the study of religion which will bring new perspectives to the existing, primarily social-scientific, literature in this field at present.