Culture & Communication

The National Safe Church Unit works to support the growth of a child safe culture across the life of the Church.  This includes the provision of messages and resources to help promote child safety and consider their own role and responsibilities in keeping people safe.

A key element of this work is providing information that is accessible to children and amplifying their voices across the Church.

• UCA National Child Safe Principles Poster
• Being a Safe Church Online – Tips and Hints
• Principles for a Child Safe UCA Powerpoint Presentation

Listening to the voices of children and young people

In accepting the 2021 Australian of the Year award, Grace Tame spoke about her own experience of child sexual abuse. She spoke about the importance of education as a primary means of prevention, she told us that it starts with a conversation, she told us about the importance of listening and hearing, and that every voice matters.

The National Safe Church Unit applauds Grace’s bravery in using her lived experience to fight for better support for others who have experienced child sexual abuse and for sharing her experience to help inform action to prevent such abuse. 

Listening to the voices of children and young people is critical to ensuring that we are a safe church for all. It is a foundational element of the Principles for a Child Safe UCA.

The National Safe Church Unit, in conversation with the Rev. Josie Neuendorff, explores how we can support and enable children and young people to speak up, and how we can take action to ensure that we hear what they say because, in the words of our Australian of the Year, every voice matters.   

NAIDOC 2020

For NAIDOC Week 2020 the Uniting Church’s National Safe Church Unit talks to the Interim UAICC National Chairperson Rev Mark Kickett about what being a Safe Church for all people means to him and other members of the UAICC.