Project team

Douglas Russell and Prof Daryl Higgins, Institute of Child Protection Studies, ACU

Funding

Benevolentia, managed by Porticus

Aim

Create a more connected and integrated academic and professional network focused on safeguarding in the Church and other sectors.

Background

The Global Safeguarding Alliance (GSA) has engaged the Institute of Child Protection Studies to lead interactions between GSA researchers and Church leaders, safeguarding professionals, trauma specialists and other relevant research end-users in Catholic entities internationally. Our audience will include Church leaders, ministers, clergy, religious men and women (brothers and nuns/sisters), and safeguarding managers.

Our vision is to integrate academic and professional work focused on safeguarding in the Catholic Church. Forming strong connections within a network will facilitate a mutually beneficial exchange of safeguarding knowledge to improve prevention of child sexual abuse, and knowledge about research methods suitable for difference context.

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Project details

Our global audience will learn about what kind of safeguarding strategies are being used across the Church in other countries, and how effective they are. They will learn about safeguarding strategies used in different contexts such as education, ministry and social work. And they will increase their knowledge about different types of research design.

We will reach our audience using a range of channels and formats, including webinars, a newsletter and social media platforms. The newsletter will highlight the latest research and profiles of key researchers of safeguarding practice.

Webinars

Research and knowledge will be shared via series of webinars and resources. Feel free to explore the webinars that have been delivered as part of this partnership.

Presented by Gabby Hunt PhD candidate, Institute of Child Protection Studies, 25 March 2024 In this webinar, Gabby Hunt (Research Officer at ICPS) presented findings from a comprehensive review of the measures identified in the 2023 Evidence Gap Map, and that are used to assess the achievement of safeguarding aims within institutional settings. She described their strengths and their limitations, and analysed the reliability and validity of measures for a range of cultural settings.

Click here to view recording of What is a good measure?

Presented by Douglas Russell, Senior Research Officer, Institute of Child Protection Studies, 24 September 2024

Douglas Russell presented findings from interviews with adults in the Catholic Church, including clergy, school teachers, laity and other church-related roles. He gave details about the kinds of participants who took part in the survey, and the differences between clergy and laypeople. Interestingly, higher knowledge correlates with lower confidence to act. This has implications not just in faith-based institutions but in all sectors.

Click here to view recording of Global study of Church leaders and safeguarding capabilities

Presented by Dr Marcus Pound, Associate Professor of Catholic Theology at Durham University, 10 December 2024

Dr Marcus Pound presented findings from his ground-breaking research, suggesting that aspects of the culture and practices of the Catholic Church are implicated in how clerical child sexual abuse has happened. The research included the views of parish communities, laypeople, priests, deacons, bishops, religious communities and safeguarding staff.

Click here to view recording of Boundary breaking: the crisis of child sexual abuse in the Catholic community in England and Wales

Presented by Katharina Ahmadi-Wachter from the University of Hildesheim, Germany, 30 April 2025

Katharina Ahmadi-Wachter presented findings from a pilot project tested a prevention program in 25 childcare settings. One of the key findings we learned is that preventing harmful educator behaviour requires more than policies and training—it demands a shift in institutional culture. Only when psychological safety, open communication, and reflective practices are embedded in daily routines can prevention efforts truly be effective.

Click here to view recording of Preventing harmful educator behaviour in childcare – a public health approach

Presented by Gabby Hunt, Research Associate, Institute of Child Protection Studies, 5 August 2025

This webinar examined prevention of child sexual abuse by changing practice from simple protocol to embedding in mission. Using data from interviews with leaders in faith-based settings (as part of her PhD research), Gabby shared what she learned about current challenges and weaknesses in safeguarding practices in religious settings. She also suggested positive practices that reframe safeguarding as central to the mission and role of religious organisations. 

Download the presentation notes.

Click here to view recording of Safeguarding as mission

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WISE project

The Women's Insights into Safeguarding Efforts in the Catholic Church (WISE) project is a global research project that seeks to understand how women—both religious and lay—experience and view safeguarding practices within the Catholic Church. Safeguarding refers to the policies and actions taken to protect children and vulnerable adults from harm, including abuse.

While the Church has made progress in safeguarding over recent years, especially following major inquiries and reforms, there is still limited research on how women within the Church perceive these efforts. Women often play key roles in safeguarding—whether as educators, carers, or religious leaders—but their voices have not been fully heard.

The WISE Project aims to fill this gap by collecting insights from women across different countries via an online survey. Participants will include nuns, sisters, and lay women who are active in Church life, and women working in the Church (both Catholic and non-Catholic). The study will explore their experiences with current safeguarding measures, their ideas for improvement, and their views on the risks posed by both men and women within Church settings.

Take part in the survey

Feel free to share survey with women in your network—whether volunteers, staff, religious sisters, or lay women involved in Church life.

Download our media kit content suggestions (PDF, 402KB)

Ethics approval has been given by the Human Research Ethics Committee at Australian Catholic University (Project: 2025-4280E).

Findings will help inform better safeguarding policies and practices and will be shared through reports, published manuscripts, and presentations at conferences. Ultimately, the WISE project aims to support safer Church communities by listening to the voices of women and using their insights to strengthen safeguarding efforts worldwide. If you have any questions, get in touch with our research team at icps@acu.edu.au.

Publications

Russell, D.H., Higgins, D. J., Harris, L., Rinaldi, A., Pound, M., & Zollner, H. (2024). The Safeguarding Capability of Adults in Catholic Church Ministries: A Global Perspective. Child Abuse & Neglect, Volume 153, 106801, ISSN 0145-2134. 

G, Hunt. (2023). Measuring children's safety in organisations: Evaluating the strengths and limitations of currently-used measures. Giving Evidence. 

Newsletter

We publish an occasional newsletter on behalf of the Global Safeguarding Alliance. Each newsletter features updates on safeguarding research and events, and links to past webinars. The newsletter also features a spotlight on someone who has contributed to the dialogue on keeping children and young people safe and working within the system to improve understanding and practice.

20 December 2024: Welcome to our first newsletter, featuring a spotlight on Sr Rejoice Enyonam Hoedoafia, PhD, a founding member of the Global Safeguarding Alliance.

28 March 2025: This issue focuses on women and global safeguarding, and features a spotlight on Coleen Ramirez-Panahon who reflects on the need for compassion through dialogue, knowledge building and reflection.

18 June 2025: We open this issue acknowledging the sad death of Pope Francis and welcome his successor Pope Leo XIV. These momentous events guide our focus on changing futures through our commitment to safeguarding children. Read also a spotlight on Fr Konrad Noronha SJ, based in India.

9 September 2025: Read about a new research project, WISE, that is examining women’s experiences of safeguarding measures, some GSA member publications, and a spotlight on ICPS Director Professor Daryl Higgins.

To receive news about new webinars and resources, subscribe via the link below

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Links

Project timeline

2023 to 2025

Contact

For further information feel free to send us an email.

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