We have previously commented on the Church of England Redress Scheme which received approval in July 2025. The Scheme it yet to be finalised, however it is already causing significant cause for concern after an alleged data breach of the names and email addresses of almost 200 survivors of Church abuse.
What happened?
On Tuesday evening, we understand that an email was sent out to all of those who had registered an interest with the Redress Scheme. This email revealed the names and email addresses of all those to whom it has been sent – the vast majority of which would be survivors of abuse who intend to apply to the Scheme once it is launched.
Any data breach is a cause for concern, but in this case the information was highly sensitive as it identifies abuse survivors and their contact details. As well as the obvious implications of the data breach itself, it is likely to also negatively impact any trust that survivors have in the validity of their Redress Scheme and their confidence in the process before it has even begun. It suggests a lack of care for those survivors who have registered an interest in the Scheme and the impact for many is likely to be significant, particularly in those cases where survivors already feel let down by the Church of England in their handling of the abuse they suffered.
There has been widespread criticism from those impacted for the data breach itself, but also the Church of England’s response to it. Anger amongst those affected is clear, with many finding the data breach to be distressing and traumatic.
How we can help
At Enable Law we have one of the most specialised teams in England and Wales supporting victims of abuse to seek justice and compensation for what happened to them. Within the team we also have dedicated expertise in supporting people whose personal sensitive details have been shared through a data breach making them vulnerable to abuse or traumatisation. We are therefore best placed to support anyone who has been impacted by this serious data breach and promise to deal with your enquiry sensitively and with the utmost confidentiality.
If you have been affected by the Church of England Redress Scheme data breach, contact us on 0800 044 8488 to discuss how we can help. Alternatively fill in our contact form and a member of our team will call you back at a time convenient for you.
