Hosted by the Bishop of Guildford and the Safeguarding team, over 35 individuals including the Mayor of Guildford, Denis Booth and representatives from key safeguarding partners such as Surrey Police, RASASC, Emerge, Guildford Town Centre Chaplaincy team and East Surrey Domestic Abuse Services (ESDAS) came together to talk about the importance of partnership, the role of the church in our communities and how we can move forward together.
There was surprise in the room, that the Church of England is the largest single provider of schooling in the UK and largest provider of youth services in our parishes and communities. We do and can play a critical role in highlighting areas of risk and sharing information to protect those most vulnerable and at risk in our society.
By coming together, we discussed what more could be done and spent time talking together on the rising risks and vulnerabilities in our communities. Surrey Police spoke of the rise in online abuse and a culture change needed to help prevent it in younger age groups; how we can make a difference for those suffering from domestic abuse in the Diocese and fundamentally how partnership, collaboration and sharing of information remains critical moving forward.
