After church scandal: National Council members take action against abuse

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The abuse scandal in the Catholic Church has shocked Switzerland. 1002 times of sexual abuse. High number of unreported cases. Destroyed files. Perpetrators who were protected. A study from the University of Zurich shows the shocking magnitude. Alarmed by this, politicians want to take action at various levels.

An alliance of parliamentarians from the SP, Greens, GLP, EPP, Center and FDP wants to better prevent child abuse in Switzerland in the future. The representatives of the six parties will jointly submit a motion on Thursday, the ‘Tages-Anzeiger’ reports. The initiative would require protection concepts that should be binding not only on churches, but also on other organizations such as clubs or schools that work with children and young adults.

Previous security concepts were often not sufficient

Reference is made, for example, to competitive sports, where cases of physical and psychological violence against minors have also come to light in recent years. The Federal Council should now draw up a legislative proposal aimed at improving the protection of minors against sexual, physical and psychological violence. Various organizations today already have security concepts in place. But often they are voluntary.

SP national councilor Tamara Funiciello (33) is quoted as one of six MPs who made the demand: “The church’s protection concepts could not prevent the many attacks, which shows that they are not enough.”

The Federal Council should make practical proposals

The federal government should submit proposals as to which ‘standardized and binding’ criteria the relevant organizations must meet. At the same time, the government must show how it can be checked whether the protection concepts are actually being complied with. She should submit all this to parliament as a new legal basis.

The aim of the parliamentarians is that it is clear to all those responsible how they should act if abuse is reported or suspected. Funiciello draws the comparison with sports clubs: “Everyone who becomes a coach there must take a Youth + Sports course in the first year and learn to provide emergency aid.”

Training courses or fact sheets from the federal government are conceivable that show how to recognize abuse. “But that is just an idea – we expect the Federal Council to make a practical proposal here,” Funiciello continued.

Because the demand is widely supported in the National Council and several factions want to support it, the chances of a majority in parliament are good, reports the ‘Tages-Anzeiger’. (dba)

Source:Blick