The Protestant Church must also deal with cases of sexualized violence in its ranks. Now a new participation forum is to give those affected more rights of co-determination.
At holiday camps, in youth groups or homes: In the last few decades, sexualized violence against children, young people or other wards has also occurred in Protestant parishes.
The Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) is aware of almost 900 cases since the 1950s that have occurred in the area of the church or diaconia. A large part of this apparently happened in the field of home education. Now the EKD wants to break new ground in the processing and give those affected more rights of co-determination.
To this end, a new participation forum on sexualized violence was set up over the weekend – representatives of the EKD and those affected unanimously approved the concept. “That can be an opportunity,” said Nancy Janz, who supported the decision to participate in the participation forum, from Bremen on Monday.
A first attempt by the evangelical church to deal with the cases of abuse in its ranks failed last year. An advisory board for those affected was appointed by the EKD in August 2020. People who have been victims of sexualized violence in the church should be heard there and have their say. But the concept, which was modeled on the Catholic Church, has not proven itself, said Janz.
“Lots of frustrations”
In the old advisory board, those affected were primarily active in an advisory capacity, said Janz. The decision as to what should and should not be adopted from the advice was therefore up to the EKD bodies. According to Janz, decisions got stuck in “endless loops”. “It caused a lot of frustration.”
The new form of participation, Sexualised Violence, brings everyone involved in the church to the table with the topic. “Those affected sit on this committee on an equal footing, and not only in an advisory capacity, but they can also act functionally,” explained Janz.
“Those affected now have a voice,” said Birgit Mangels-Voegt, who, as an external consultant, had proposed the new model. “I’m not part of the church – that was very important for the process,” she emphasized. Mangels-Voegt works, among other things, as a moderator and conflict manager in Schwanewede, Lower Saxony.
Ultimately, those affected and representatives of the EKD unanimously agreed on their proposal. The process is now to be accompanied by external moderation and supervision. The committee will meet four times a year. For example, fundamental questions about recognition services or disciplinary consequences should be decided, explained Mangels-Voegt.
“With this new, significantly different and more far-reaching form of participation, we will consistently implement our common concern to deal with and prevent sexualized violence in the Protestant church and diaconia in the best possible way,” said the spokesman for the Commissioner Council, Bishop Christoph Meyns of Braunschweig. Janz, who is affected, is even more reserved: the new model is a way that could lead to the goal. Now you have to see whether the good intentions are actually implemented.
Source: Stern
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