Sexual Abuse Fund

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The Sexual Abuse Fund (FSM for short) is an aid fund for victims of sexual abuse , which was set up by the German government in May 2013 to implement the recommendation of a supplementary support system by the Round Table on Sexual Abuse of Children. The fund is a time-limited offer of help from which those affected can receive up to 10,000 euros for benefits in kind - in particular for therapeutic help. Additional needs in the case of disabilities in order to receive benefits from the fund are recognized up to an amount of 5,000 euros.

history

The first forerunners of the ideas for the Sexual Abuse Fund were already developed with the action plan presented by the Federal Government in 2003 to protect children and young people from sexual violence and exploitation. There were further discussions and developments in preparation for the Third World Congress against the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in Rio de Janeiro in 2008 , in which the German government participated.

In the years that followed, following a series of uncovered sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church and schools , the issue of sexual abuse received increased media attention. This led to the establishment of the Round Table on Child Sexual Abuse in Dependency and Power Relationships in private and public institutions and in the family sphere, which met in 2010 and 2011. In its final report, the round table made a recommendation on the establishment of additional support for those affected.

On May 1, 2013, the Sexual Abuse Fund was set up, initially in the family area. The first agreements with institutions to set up a parallel fund for victims of sexual abuse in institutions were concluded on December 6, 2013. This fund can initially deal with cases that have suffered sexual abuse in certain institutions of the Protestant and Catholic Churches. The German Conference of Superiors of Orders joined the supplementary help system in the institutional area on March 7, 2014. Negotiations are ongoing with other institutions (as of February 2015).

financing

Originally, it was planned that the federal and state governments would participate equally in the financing. However, this failed due to the lack of participation by the federal states. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was the only federal state to pay 1.03 million euros into the fund when it was set up; the Free State of Bavaria has meanwhile contributed 7.61 million euros. Hesse is now also participating in the ESM with 3.65 million euros. The federal government also paid in the promised 50 million euros.

Application process

Those affected who were minors at the time of the offense can submit an application to the Fund for Sexual Abuse in Families if the act occurred between 23 May 1949 (citizens of the Federal Republic) or 7 October 1949 (citizens of the GDR) and before June 30, 2013 (entry into force of the law to strengthen the rights of victims of sexual abuse - StORMG ) and on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany or the former GDR.

The application runs on a 19-page application form. Many of the questions are designed as multiple-choice questions to be ticked. In addition, documents from criminal proceedings or medical records can be enclosed, but this is not mandatory.

Advisors were trained by the Fund's office to support the application process. There are corresponding support options in every federal state. In principle, however, the application can also be submitted without the support of a counseling center.

Upon receipt at the office, the applications are anonymized . Only then are they forwarded to the fund's clearing house for a decision , whose members decide whether to grant the aid.

The limitation of the application to the end of April 2016 for the family area was lifted at the end of March 2016 by decision of the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs . For the institutional sector, the application deadline of August 31, 2016 still applied. However, several institutions extended their acceptance deadlines, in some cases until the end of 2020.

effect

In 2013, more than 700 affected people applied for money from the relief fund. Victims' associations, however, criticized the aid as inadequate and, above all, called for the limitation periods for prosecuting the perpetrators to be lifted .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Round table on child sexual abuse in dependency and power relationships in private and public institutions and in the family. BAG FORSA, November 30, 2011, accessed on February 9, 2015 (PDF).
  2. ↑ history. Family Sexual Abuse Fund, accessed February 6, 2015 .
  3. ^ Fund for Sexual Abuse: The Fund at a Glance. Retrieved March 6, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Application. Family Sexual Abuse Fund, accessed February 6, 2015 .
  5. ↑ The Federal Ministry of Family Affairs cancels the application deadline for the "Sexual Abuse Fund". Those affected who have suffered child abuse in the family could also apply for help after April 30, 2016. Independent Child Sexual Abuse Officer, March 29, 2016, accessed April 1, 2016 .
  6. ↑ Application. Retrieved April 10, 2019 .
  7. ↑ More than 700 applications this year. taz, December 28, 2013, accessed February 5, 2015 .