Survivors’ support and resources

Survivors’ support and resources

Survivors’ support and resources

We want to respond well and support anyone who has experienced abuse. Our leaflet for survivors explains how we will respond to survivors of abuse and this page contains information about other sources of support.

Safe Spaces

Safe Spaces is a free and independent support service, run by First Light service, an independent charity that specialises in supporting victims and survivors of abuse.

You can contact the Safe Spaces team through their helpline (0300 303 1056), their live chat facility or by emailing safespaces@firstlight.org.uk.

The helpline is open 9am-9pm Monday-Friday, 9am-1pm Saturday, 1pm-5pm Sunday. This is available to anyone who has experienced church related abuse, irrespective of whether they are a registered client of Safe Spaces. You can access this to receive emotional support and a listening ear from a member of the Safe Spaces team, who will have a thorough understanding of Church processes.

Redress Scheme

The National Redress Scheme will offer financial redress as well as therapeutic, spiritual and emotional support, acknowledgment of wrongdoing on the part of the Church, apology and support to survivors of Church-related abuse. The scheme is not yet open for applications, but learn more about the scheme which is expected to open in late 2026, and read the latest updates, on the Church of England website.

Further resources:

  • MACSAS supports women and men who have been sexually abused, as children or adults, by ministers, clergy or others under the guise of the Church. They support both Survivors who have remained within their Christian communities and those who have left.
  • Survivors Voices is a survivor-led organisation that runs peer support groups for victim-survivors of all kinds of abuse, including faith-based abuse. It has a newsletter and other special events for survivors of abuse experienced in churches and other faith-based communities.
  • ‘Thirtyone:eight is a leading independent, non-denominational Christian safeguarding charity providing a wide range of support to over 10,000 organisations across the UK. They exist to help create safer places for all, including an open-access helpline
  • Safeline is a specialist charity that works to prevent sexual violence and abuse and support those affected to cope and recover.
  • The Male Survivors Partnership aims to end sexual violence against men and boys. Their goals are to secure prevention, healing and justice for men and boys through research, advocacy and capacity building.

A more extensive list of organisations offering support to survivors, including therapy and counselling resources, helplines and self-help resources, is available to download.