BERLIN, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Protestant Church in Germany (EKD) is in the line of fire after the presentation of a report on sexualized violence and other forms of abuse in the EKD. There have also been calls to reform the way victims are compensated.
"It has become clear that there is a lack of structure to deal with sexual violence in the Protestant Church," Kerstin Claus, independent commissioner for child sexual abuse issues of the German government, told Neue Berliner Redaktionsgesellschaft on Friday.
The investigation into sexualized violence in the EKD and its charitable organization Diakonie documented at least 2,225 victims and 1,259 suspected perpetrators over the last few decades. Investigators expect that there are also many unreported cases. They were not able to evaluate all staff files, relying primarily on disciplinary files.
"Personnel files have to be evaluated, the question has to be asked who was or still is responsible," Claus told the taz newspaper. "The system for compensating victims requires independent structures to which victims could turn. This needs "transparency and clear criteria," she added.
"As a Protestant church and Diakonie, we take responsibility for the acts of violence committed by employees and volunteers of our institution," said Bishop Kirsten Fehrs, current chairwoman of the council of EKD, on Thursday.
"As an institution, we have also become guilty," Fehrs said. "And I can only wholeheartedly apologize to those of you who have been hurt in this way."
