Church in the focus: Ride to life after sexual abuse!

Church in the focus: Ride to life after sexual abuse!

Niedersachsen, Deutschland - On January 28, 2025, the report "Life after abuse" will be broadcast on ZDF. This program is part of the "37 degrees" series and addresses sexual violence, especially in institutions such as clubs, schools and churches. During the report, various affected people have their say who share their traumatic experiences. This includes Nancy Janz, who, as a 44-year-old woman, experienced sexual abuse of an evangelical youth pastor in Lower Saxony. Janz had also experienced sexual violence in her family and still sees a value in the commitment to the church that she originally turned away.

Another affected person, Anselm Kohn, was abused by his stepfather, a pastor. The abuse only became public in 2010. Kohn is now fighting to deal with his experiences, but he lacks the time to deal with his extensive file folders. Markus Klaassen, who grew up in Gelsenkirchen, also reports on abuse by an evangelical pastor. If he had received a small sum from the church according to a set criminal proceedings, he was denied a range of therapy. Nathalie Suthor's report illuminates the slow changes within the church institution and encounters the unclear number of those affected, since data is often missing or are not disclosed.

studies on the processing of abuse

The handling of sexual violence in the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) is the focus of an independent study that began at the end of 2020 and the results were published on January 25, 2024. Commissioned and financed by the EKD and its 20 regional churches, the study pursues the goal of uncovering hazard constellations for sexualized violence and its processing. The findings should contribute to the optimization of prevention work and are intensively discussed in order to improve existing concepts for intervention. The participation forum sexualized violence offers affected representatives and church representatives the opportunity to actively participate in dealing with the topic.

The 11-point action plan, which was decided in 2018, is one of the measures initiated and is the basis for the research project. Forum, as the research initiative is called, has a budget of around 3.6 million euros and includes several sub -projects that are carried out at various universities and institutes.

joint explanation for transparency

Another important step towards dealing with sexual violence in the church was carried out on December 13, 2023. On this day, a “joint explanation” between the EKD, Diakonie Germany and the independent representative was signed for questions of sexual abuse (UBSKM). This explanation includes binding criteria and standards for dealing with all Evangelical State Churches and Diaconal Associations. Important elements are the establishment of "independent regional processing commissions" in order to ensure the structural participation of those affected in the processing and thus to promote independent, comprehensive and transparent processing.

The combination of perpetrators, cover -up and educators within the EKD has led to deep uncertainty among those affected. This requires a clear framework of action and stronger measures for reform and processing. The coming years must show whether these initiatives can lead to sustainable change within the church.

More details can be found in the report and the studies that deal intensively with the processing and prevention of sexual violence. The topic remains highly topical in both society and in the church.

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