In the shadow of the Clergy Discipline Measure (CDM): clergy experiences of ‘informal’ and safeguarding complaints

The Sheldon Community collaborated with Aston University to undertake the first ever systematic survey into the lived experience of the Church of England Clergy Discipline Measure 2003 (CDM). Criticisms of the CDM have already been well rehearsed, and this research has contributed to the fact that the measure is now believed to be formally slated for replacement. However, the impact of the CDM’s flaws on the research participants needs to be understood if the scope of its replacement is to be adequately framed. The research highlights a subgroup of clergy who went through the ‘informal’ stages of the CDM, or an associated process such as safeguarding assessment. The psychosocial impact of these experiences was found to be on a par with those of the formal stages of the CDM. The results deserve to be considered carefully by those tasked with creating a new system for complaints against clergy.