Prayer for victims of abuse

As the BBC deals with the impact of revelations about sexual abuse of young girls by Jimmy Savile and others, let us not forget that this is not just about one institution. There was a culture of tolerance and denial about abuse in the world I grew up in in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s. It continues to affect all of us, whether or not we were abused ourselves, as so many of us were - by parents, teachers, other family members and people in positions of trust, named and unnamed. My prayer today is for all sexually abused children and adult survivors. I hope you will join me.

You may like to light a candle and have a moment of silence between each line to remember those for whom you especially need to pray.

• For adult survivors of sexual abuse
• For children suffering sexual abuse now
• For the partners, friends and families of survivors
• For churches, schools and national institutions, that they may grow in awareness and sensitivity
• For leaders in all areas of life, that they may put in place wise and effective policies and procedures for child protection
• For survivors from ethnic groups who may suffer the additional hurts of racism
• For all who speak out on this issue and who work to promote education, training and understanding
• For all those who know about abuse and refuse to speak out that they may have the courage to do so
• For the men and women who perpetrate  these crimes, that they may come to a real understanding of the harm that they do and take responsibility to stop such behaviour

This prayer is based on a postcard produced by CSSA in the 1990s.