A LETTER to the Archbishop of York from survivors of church-based abuse has been criticised by a former member of the disbanded Independent Safeguarding Board (ISB), Dame Jasvinder Sanghera.
The letter, sent last week, refers to Archbishop Cottrell as a “diabolical monster” and says that he cannot be trusted to fix church safeguarding. Dame Jasvinder said that she was “disheartened” by the letter, and described its language as “disgusting”.
The ISB was disbanded in 2023 after the sacking of Dame Jasvinder and another board member, Steve Reeves (News, 23 June 2023). Several survivors who had been awaiting a review of their cases were left in limbo at the time.
Known collectively as the “ISB 11”, those survivors continued to meet Dame Jasvinder and Mr Reeves, who advocated that their reviews be progressed (News, 21 June 2024). Since last year, at least one review has come close to completion.
Some chose to engage with the Church of England’s provision of an “interim commissioner of independent reviews”, Kevin Crompton, and its offer of advocacy services. Others complained that Mr Crompton and the advocacy services were not independent enough.
Disagreements among survivors over how much to engage with the Church are, the Church Times understands, part of the reason for the split. Among the points of dissension was whether to try to meet the Archbishop of York.
The split became public when a group of survivors wrote to Archbishop Cottrell on Thursday of last week. The letter was issued in the name of the “ISB Survivors Group”. A spokesperson for the group said that it comprised a majority of the original members.
The letter describes Archbishop Cottrell as a “diabolical monster bent on causing us further harm”, and suggests that many survivors see him as “an individual worse than Bishop Peter Ball or John Smyth”.
They write that further engagement with the Church could “potentially expose us to experiencing substantially worse further trauma that would cause us (already victims of sexual and spiritual abuse from your organization) irreparable and in some cases even mortal harm”.
The letter concludes with a request that Archbishop Cottrell “appoint a TRULY Independent Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to move things forward URGENTLY”.
A spokesperson for the group said that its members were no longer engaging with Dame Jasvinder and Mr Reeves, but thanked them for their past support. It is understood that the two former board members of the ISB did not know about the letter sent to Archbishop Cottrell.
In a post on X/Twitter on Sunday, Dame Jasvinder said: “It is shocking and a disappointing letter and does not represent the ISB 11. We will continue to support survivors to ensure their reviews are progressed. Also, to ensure they are appropriately supported. We do not need to negate individuals to achieve this goal.”
The Church Times understands that five members of the original ISB 11 are still engaging with Dame Jasvinder and Mr Reeves, and the possibility of meeting Archbishop Cottrell.
At least one member of the original group is not participating with either of the two factions. A representative of the ISB Survivors Group said that nine of the original members were involved in the new group.
One of the original members of the ISB 11, and a vice-chair of the independent National Safeguarding Panel, Jane Chevous, wrote on social media on Sunday that she was “shocked” by the letter. “I understand the strength of people’s feelings and the level of trauma. However things will not change without mature dialogue. I’m also sad that survivors are unable to advocate collectively,” she said.
Ms Chevous told the Church Times: “It’s clear that the Church needs to engage in conflict resolution with the remaining ISB group, and it hasn’t found a way to do that.”
