Miriam Rassenhofer

Listening to victims: use of a Critical Incident Reporting System to enable adult victims of childhood sexual abuse to participate in a political reappraisal process in Germany.

Recent revelations about the scope and severity of past child sexual abuse in German institutions set off a broad public debate on this issue, and led to the establishment of a politically appointed Round Table committee and an Independent Commissioner whose mandates were to reappraise the issue and develop recommendations for future policies. A media campaign was launched to publicize the establishment of a Critical Incident Reporting System (CIRS) whereby now-adult victims of past abuse could anonymously provide testimonials and let policy makers know what issues were important to them. Respondents could either call a hotline number or communicate by mail or email. The information collected was documented and analyzed by a research team, and the results of interim reports were included in the recommendations of the Independent Commissioner and the Round Table committee. Most of the respondents described severe and repeated occurrences of childhood sexual abuse. For many, priorities were improvements in therapy and counseling services, the abolishment of the statute of limitations on prosecuting offenders, and financial compensation. Based on the recommendations of the Round Table and the Independent Commissioner, two new laws were adopted as well as an action plan and some guidelines. In addition to rules for recompensation of victims in an institutional context a fund for victims of sexual abuse in intrafamilial context was established by the Federal Government. Another effect of this process was raising societal sensitivity to the problem of child sexual abuse. The use of a CIRS enabled those directly affected by childhood sexual abuse to have some input into a political process designed to address this issue. Such an approach could have applicability in other countries or in other domains of public health and other forms of societal conflict as well.

[Validated Instruments for the Psychological Assessment of Unaccompanied Refugee Minors - a Systematic Review].

The German care system faces a growing number of unaccompanied refugee minors (URM). URM show high levels of traumatization, a variety of psychological symptoms and lack important resilience factors. Therefore an early and valid psychological assessment is important for intervention and service planning. Yet, no systematic review on validated instruments for the assessment of this group exists. Literature search revealed one study about translators in the assessment of URM and five validated instruments for proxy and self-report. These instruments are available in several languages and showed good psychometric properties. It has to be critically stated that all instruments have been validated by a single work group within a single population. Especially with regards to changing definitions of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder within the new (and upcoming) classification systems ICD-11 and DSM-5, increased awareness for diagnostic procedures is necessary. Additionally, more validated instruments for specific psychological disorders in multiple languages are needed. Under an economic perspective the use of open access questionnaires that are available in different languages seems useful, even if they are not especially validated for URM.

The Prevalence of Sexual Abuse in Institutions: Results From a Representative Population-Based Sample in Germany:

The lifetime prevalence of sexual abuse in institutional settings in Germany was examined in a sample representative of the general adult population (N = 2,437). Participants completed a survey on whether they had ever experienced such abuse, its nature (contact, noncontact, forced sexual, intercourse), the type of institution (e.g. school, club), and the relationship of perpetrator to victim (peer, caregiver, staff member). Overall, 3.1% of adult respondents (women: 4.8%, men: 0.8%) reported having experienced some type of sexual abuse in institutions. Adult women reported higher rates of all types than did men, with rates of 3.9% versus 0.8% for contact sexual abuse, 1.2% versus 0.3% for noncontact sexual abuse, and 1.7% versus 0.2% for forced sexual intercourse. We conclude that a remarkable proportion of the general population experiences sexual abuse in institutions, underscoring the need for development of protective strategies. Especially, schools seem to represent good starting points for primary prevention strategies.

Child Sexual Abuse in Religiously Affiliated and Secular Institutions in Germany

In this chapter, we describe the development of research about child sexual abuse in religiously affiliated and secular institutions in Germany that has been neglected for a long time. In 2010, the so-called abuse affair in Germany ignited a political debate over the extent of abuse committed by professional educators. At around the same time, the German government and the Roman Catholic Church in Germany each set up a contact point to gather information on child sexual abuse that had taken place within the church and secular institutions. In one of our analyses, we looked at a subset of the data, in order to compare the nature of abuse experienced in three types of institutions: Roman Catholic, Protestant, and secular. The results suggest that child sexual abuse in institutions is attributable to the nature of institutional structures more than to the attitudes towards sexuality of a specific religion. In another analysis, we compared data about sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church that has been collected through a church and through a government contact point. Some differences were found. These differences highlight the need for an effective complaint management system to offer not just one but complementary channels of communication. In addition, the findings confirm the feasibility and value of a critical incident reporting system (CIRS) approach and the use of so-called citizen science in politically driven review processes. Finally, we draft developments in politics, society and institutions concerning prevention and intervention strategies.

Research on Child Sexual Abuse in Institutions in German-Speaking Countries: A Summary

Education of children and child protection was improved in all three European German-speaking countries, Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, up to the late 1960s/1970s as a continuing process. More and more research on the prevalence of child sexual abuse in institutions and prevention and intervention strategies has been developed since then. Awareness and consciousness of child sexual abuse in institutions has led to outrage in the public since 2010. Reappraisal processes of child sexual abuse in institutions in the past have been implemented by political/governmental bodies and the Roman Catholic Church in different ways in the three countries, dependent on their federal structure. Results of these research programs showed a high prevalence of abuse and neglect in institutions. Research projects financed by politics or the Roman Catholic Church helped us to understand that the structures of institutions – and not the organizational background (like the Roman Catholic Church) – have influenced the occurrence of the abuse. Even if controlled for familial risk factors, child sexual abuse has an important influence on the development of psychiatric problems. Being heard, taken seriously, and helped are protective factors for survivors of child sexual abuse that can prevent long-lasting psychosocial consequences. Historical studies conducted in Switzerland have explained the influence of society on the appearance of child sexual abuse in institutions in the past. Current studies still show a high risk of child sexual abuse in institutions today. These studies point to a high prevalence of peer-to-peer victimization that has to be considered in the future. Prevention and intervention strategies and direction of research are discussed at the end.

Gesellschafts- und bildungspolitische Notwendigkeit eines umfassenden Kursangebotes zur Prävention von sexuellem Kindesmissbrauch

Ausgehend von den Daten, die im Rahmen der Arbeit der Anlaufstelle der Unabhangigen Beauftragten fur sexuellen Kindesmissbrauch (UBSKM) gesammelt wurden sowie einer Fachkraftebefragung, stellen die Autoren die gesellschafts- und bildungspolitische Notwendigkeit der umfassenden Fort- und Weiterbildung von Fachkraften des Kinderschutzes dar. Neben den Auskunften der von Missbrauch betroffenen Personen, die sich haufig bei der Anlaufstelle fur eine bessere Ausbildung der Fachkrafte aussprachen, zeigt auch die Fachkraftebefragung der UBSKM den Weiterbildungsbedarf. Sowohl der eingerichtete Runde Tisch „Sexueller Kindesmissbrauch in Abhangigkeits- und Machtverhaltnissen in privaten und offentlichen Einrichtungen und im familiaren Bereich“ als auch die UBSKM unterstutzen in ihren Empfehlungen die Fachkrafteausbildung. Das Kapitel beschreibt zudem den Stand der Umsetzung dieser Empfehlungen.