All evangelists working in public places should give careful attention to personal safety and the safety of others involved in their work. Safety risks will vary depending on location, time of day, and the nature of the work being undertaken.
Health and Safety at Work Act
Where an organisation undertaking evangelism has employees, it is a “person conducting a business or undertaking” (PCBU) under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. PCBUs must identify the risks associated with their activities and eliminate those risks so far as is reasonably practicable, or if elimination is not possible, minimise those risks.
An organisation that is solely a collection of volunteers is not a PCBU. However, individual volunteers must follow any relevant health and safety obligations (like building rules), and we suggest volunteer associations should aim for best-practice in health and safety even if they do not have legal obligations.
Sometimes body cameras are used to help minimise risk because they may deter abusive or violent behaviour, but they are not a guarantee against harm. When incidents occur, footage from body cameras may provide useful evidence to support a report to authorities. (But note our comments on body cameras in the privacy information sheet.) Where cameras are not used, we recommend evangelists make a note of any concerning interactions including the date and time of the incident and a brief description of what happened.
Online safety
Evangelists working online may also face risks such as abuse or harassment. Harmful online communications may breach the Harmful Digital Communications Act and can be reported to the police or to approved agencies such as Netsafe.
What should an evangelist do to keep safe?
- Make personal safety, and the safety of employees and volunteers, a priority.
- Identify risks and eliminate them so far as is reasonably practicable.
- If risks cannot be eliminated, minimise them so far as is reasonably practicable.
- Choose public locations that reduce risk, such as busy and well-lit areas, and have a plan for obtaining help if needed.
- Report criminal behaviour to the police.
- Report harmful online behaviour to the police or Netsafe.
- In emergencies call 111.
Disclaimer: This information sheet is produced for general purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice or advice of any other kind and should not be relied on as such.
The information sheet summarises material in Evangelism: Legal Guidelines, a resource to inform evangelists about the laws likely to affect public ministry. If this topic is relevant to your ministry, we recommend reading the relevant section in the full guidelines, which are available here.
If you are involved in evangelism and have a question that our guidelines don’t answer, feel free to get in touch by emailing contact@ethosalliance.nz.
