Affected Council at the Independent Commissioner for Issues of Child Sexual Abuse
The Affected Council is a body set up by the Independent Commissioner for Issues relating to Child Sexual Abuse (UBSKM). The members of the Affected Council have experienced sexualized violence themselves in a wide variety of contexts and have been working on this subject professionally and / or voluntarily for years.
prehistory
With the establishment of the Affected Council, an agreement from the coalition agreement of the 18th legislative period was implemented. The constituent meeting of the Affected Council took place on March 23, 2015. The members were appointed by the Independent Commissioner Johannes-Wilhelm Rörig for the duration of his term of office until March 31, 2019. Starting with his second term of office in 2014, Rörig set the course for the new committee and issued the first administrative regulation on the cooperation and the tasks of the affected council and the selection committee. In his press release, he praised this as a "historic event". In the coalition agreement for the 19th legislative period of March 12, 2018, the Council of Affected Persons is specifically named and recognized: "We want to consolidate the position of the Independent Commissioner for Issues of Child Sexual Abuse (UBSKM), including the valuable work of the Council of Affected Persons."
composition
With the permanent establishment of the office of an independent commissioner for issues relating to child sexual abuse, the Federal Cabinet also established the Council of Affected Persons in December 2018; a current administrative regulation was issued on January 1, 2020. According to the administrative regulations, the Council of Affected Persons can have up to 18 members who are appointed for a period of five years by the [[Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth | Federal Minister for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth]]. The members should be made up of those affected as gender-appropriately as possible and represent different contexts of abuse.
The application process for the newly constituted Council of Affected Persons started on October 21, 2019. By December 9, 2019, over 200 applications were received, which will be viewed by the selection committee. On June 4, 2020, the 18 members of the second affected council were appointed by Federal Minister Dr. Franziska Giffey appointed. The constituent meeting of the Affected Council took place on June 26th.
goals and tasks
The establishment of the Affected Council serves the technical exchange with the UBSKM on issues of sexual violence against children and adolescents at the federal level. Clear procedures and individual participation rights guarantee continuous and structured participation of those affected. The members of the Affected Council advocate the concerns of those affected by sexual violence and bring their concerns into the political discourse and the public.
The Affected Council meets around five times a year in Berlin together with the UBSKM. The meetings are not public. Two members of the Council of Affected Persons also have guest status at the meetings of the Independent Commission for the Study of Child Sexual Abuse . In the event of an upcoming change of office at UBSKM, the affected council should be given a right to be heard.
Contact to the Affected Council
In order to be able to include the concerns of as many victims as possible in its political work, the Affected Council depends on feedback from people who have also experienced sexual violence in their childhood and adolescence. Only in this way can he exercise his influence and point out where there are still difficulties, hurdles and special challenges. The members of the Affected Council work primarily in political advice at UBSKM; Individual, psychological or legal advice on specific life situations cannot be provided. For this purpose there is the nationwide help hotline for sexual abuse or the help portal for sexual abuse of the UBSKM, which uses an extensive database to refer to advice and help offers on site.
Congress MitSsprach
During its first term of office, the Affected Council is responsible for two congresses. The events taking place in Berlin in November 2016 and September 2018 were carried out by victims for victims of sexual violence and supporters. In the second edition of the 2018 congress, it was the world's largest congress of its kind on child sexual abuse in all contexts. The aim was, among other things, global networking and the exchange of initiatives for those affected. Guests from twelve countries took part.
A total of over 250 participants were counted. In workshops and panels, knowledge and experiences were exchanged, political decisions and processes were critically examined and concrete demands on politics were developed. Current topics, such as dealing with abuse in the Catholic Church , were discussed as well as sexual abuse in GDR homes , in sports and in science. The reform of victim compensation law, prevention options, the strengthening of specialist advice, the creation of protective spaces for those affected by ritual violence and better procedural processes in criminal law as well as research issues were further focal points. An exhibition with exhibits from those affected also showed various forms of artistic engagement with what had been experienced.
For the first time, the magazine “BETRIFFT: ALLE.” Of the Affected Council was presented in this context. In it, the members of the Affected Council describe their personal commitment, their joint work and their concerns and demands on politics and society in various contributions.
Cooperation with the advisory board of UBSKM (2014 - 2019)
Since the constituent meeting on 22./23. From September 2014 to the end of the second term of office of the Independent Commissioner at the end of March 2019, an advisory board supported the work of the Independent Commissioner for Issues of Child Sexual Abuse. At the end of March 2019, the National Council against Sexual Violence against Children and Young People was launched together with the Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth.
All members of the Affected Council regularly worked in the concept groups in the UBSKM Advisory Board and are represented in the National Council and its working groups. There they actively contribute to the discussions with experience and specialist knowledge from the point of view of those affected.
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Council of Affected Persons. In: Independent Commissioner for Child Sexual Abuse Issues. Retrieved July 7, 2020 .
- ↑ Affected Council at the Independent Commissioner is constituted. In: Independent Commissioner for Child Sexual Abuse Issues. Retrieved May 15, 2020 .
- ^ Coalition agreement between the CDU, CSU and SPD of March 12, 2018. In: German Bundestag. Retrieved May 15, 2020 .
- ↑ Administrative regulation from 01/01/2020 - UBSKM. Retrieved May 15, 2020 .
- ↑ Appointment of the second affected council. In: Independent Commissioner for Child Sexual Abuse Issues. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
- ↑ Minister Giffey appoints second council of persons affected by the Independent Commissioner for Issues of Child Sexual Abuse , June 5, 2020, press release by UBSKM
- ↑ First meeting of the newly appointed Affected Council at UBSKM , June 26, 2020, press release of UBSKM
- ↑ About us - What the commission does • Processing commission. In: Processing Commission. Retrieved May 15, 2020 (German).