Abuse Linked to Witchcraft and Spirit Possession
Why is the BHSCP providing this course?
Last year over 2000 children were reported as being abused in England through Spiritual and Ritual Beliefs.
Over the past six years, the UK has recorded a 47% increase in the reporting of spiritual and ritual abuse (SARA) in children alone, with Bradford being the 2nd highest reporting area in the UK. Jordan, who leads this course, has directed hundreds of successful investigations into such abuse, including the first criminal trial in 2017 where SARA was recognised for the first time as an aggravating factor of the abuse suffered by a family by a spiritual leader.
This course equips you with the necessary tools to identify, report, and refer instances of this abuse, ensuring you are confident in handling such concerns in your role to safeguard those at risk.
The course covers various case studies that Jordan has worked on himself, current statistics on this abuse in the UK, its integration into other more recognised forms of abuse, and specific indicators to be aware of.
Jordan will guide you in addressing this abuse, which is intertwined with our beliefs, in a respectful and considerate way, enabling you to protect others from harmful rituals and practices, allowing you to safeguard individuals.
Target Audience:
Members of staff, who work predominantly with children, young people and their families, parents/carers, and who could potentially contribute to the assessment, intervention and reviewing the safeguarding needs for a child or young person, where there are safeguarding concerns, and/or potential risks.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this course you will be able to:
- Learn what Spiritual and Ritual Abuse, SARA is
- RRRRM process (Recognise, Record, Report, Refer, Manage)
- Understanding our own beliefs and why they are important to us
- Understand how this abuse is embedded in other forms of abuse
- Review of case studies & learning from them – how can we ensure we do not miss opportunities to safeguarding people in future
- Learn terminology related to different beliefs and spiritualities
- Review key reporting statistics of SARA in the United Kingdom
- Understand key significant indicators to recognise this abuse
- Learn how to confidently manage a report of SARA
- Effective communication styles that support victim/survivors of SARA
- Referral techniques and key legislation to ensure partner agencies act on your concern
- Doubt Based Advocacy – DBA
Booking:
BHSCP courses and events are booked via the Learning Zone platform. If you need a Learning Zone account and haven’t yet requested one please email BHSCP@brighton-hove.gov.uk.
Only professionals working with children and their families in Brighton & Hove are able to request a Learning Zone account.
You can access Learning Zone here: Brighton & Hove Learning Zone
Full details of our charging policy can be found here: Multi-Agency Training page.