We’ve had a truly exciting year, expanding our work in several ways and working with more people than ever. FACES started in 2016 as a call to action for local Christians and Muslims to work together and present a united voice against child sexual exploitation. We help build more resilient communities by raising awareness of child sexual exploitation and addressing the misinformation in the discourse surrounding it.

Our work has been a collaborative effort from the beginning, and we want to share with our partners and supporters just how much we’ve grown in the last year, and our vision for the year ahead!

Youth Work and Training

In the past year we’ve worked with over 50 young people who took part in our Teen Programme, working in local schools to discuss ideas around identity, communication and relationships. We developed two new CPD courses, and 130 people have completed training with us in the last 12 months. We’ve focused a lot on our Safeguarding and Prejudice CPD course which is 100% recommended by participants.

“It was good to get honest differing of opinions which enabled me to reflect on my own thought and prejudices.”

Speaking Engagements

We were invited to speak at the Faith and Police Together conference and YMCA175 to share about our journey of working together to address a complex issue.

Our messages of collaboration and confronting difficult topics has reached over 400 people in 2019, plus many more who read our blog.

Annual Conference

This year’s conference was our biggest yet, and we’ve written all about it in this previous blog post. Nick Marsh, from the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse, said of the event:

“I found the FACES conference one of the most interesting events I have attended all year. It was fantastic to see an event that engaged members of the public and professionals. It placed the voices of lesser heard people and communities at the heart of the conversation. The event was both informative and challenging. It reinforced the point that it is the responsibility of services and professionals to engage all members of our society. Engaging lesser heard people and communities has to be an ongoing commitment, not an event. It takes time to build trust.”

Read more about our most recent work in our latest newsletter.

What’s new for 2020

Our research project launched in 2019, and will be rolling out in Luton schools in the new year. We’ll be exploring the experiences young people of faith have with Relationships and Sex Education. Our 2020 conference will take place in Autumn, with a focus on presenting the findings of the project. Watch this space!

Our team will also be growing in 2020. We’ll be recruiting part-time staff with a view to reach more children and young people, and deliver more training within faith groups and to practitioners that work in faith communities. Check our Facebook page and website for updates.

Finally, in just over two weeks we’re running Safeguarding and Prejudice CPD training in Luton. There are still places left, to find out more and book your place click here.

Thank you for all of your support in 2019. Happy new year!