Welby’s resignation alone won’t deliver justice—real change means putting survivors first

12 November 2024, 13:46

Justin Welby’s resignation alone won’t bring justice for church abuse victims—real change demands centring survivors and supporting trauma-informed reform.

Steel, cars, and men who abuse children have been some of this country’s most impactful exports to the developing world over the past hundred years— the revelations about John Smyth should not shock us.

The good news is that solutions do exist if the Church is brave enough to implement them. Justin Welby’s position as Head of the Church of England is untenable. He has to go. But it would be a huge mistake for us to think that his resignation is enough to deliver the kind of change that survivors of child sexual abuse deserve.

Religious and cultural institutions harbour and protect abusers by silencing their victims and moving the abusive people around - often into deprived communities where children, parents, and carers can be ignored. Some of those who were abused by Smyth did not survive.

Those who did will have repeatedly had their experiences minimised or outright ignored. When we ignore victims of abuse, especially boys who are more likely to be abused in an institutional context, we allow abusers to flourish.

There are almost certainly figures within the Church of England hoping that Welby’s resignation will take attention away from this issue and that once he is gone, they can quietly go back to ignoring survivors. We cannot let that happen.

The Makin Review into the Church’s handling of allegations against Smyth revealed that some victims had not told anyone of the abuse they had experienced for 40 years. Shame, fear of retaliation, and feeling somehow responsible for the abuse keeps many survivors suffering in silence for decades.

The ‘lack of curiosity’ it accuses Welby of showing is the exact impulse that allows children to be abused in institutions throughout our society.

We need to do the opposite. Church leaders need to put their faith in the testimony of those most affected. The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which spoke to more than 6000 survivors, made clear that governments and institutions need to invest in those voices.

That means meaningful consultation on organisational and national policy. It means setting up and maintaining protection structures for children that are proven to work.

It also means supporting those abused by religious figures with specialist trauma-informed therapy. Again, we know this works. At SurvivorsUK, we see every day that people who were abused in childhood can and do build lives that are full of purpose, passion, and joy.

It’s not easy, it’s not quick, but it is possible. And it’s more than possible for an institution like the Church of England to be part of the healing instead of the source of the trauma itself.

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Tanaka Mhishi is a writer and performer. He is the author of Sons and Others: On Loving Male Survivors, a new look at the way sexual violence impacts mens’ relationships and identities. He serves as vice chair of trustees at SurvivorsUK which supports male and non-binary survivors of sexual violence. https://www.survivorsuk.org/

If you’re a male survivor of sexual abuse or assault and you need support, visit the Survivors UK website at www.survivorsuk.org, email their helpline via help@survivorsuk.org or chat via SMS: 020 3322 1860

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