Prevention work

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Students in front of a computer © Karl-Josef Hildenbrand

The Diocese of Aachen wants to familiarize the teachers of its eleven schools with the risks of digital media. The aim of the training is to better protect children and young people from Internet dangers such as sexting, stalking and cyberbullying.

In cooperation with the association "Innocence Danger", all teachers are to be trained by March 2018, as the diocese announced in Aachen.

Place of prevention work

Self-promotion on the Internet or sending erotic selfies is high among young people, said the prevention officer of the diocese, Almuth Gruner. Many students, however, are not aware that they lose control over the images on the Internet. That is why schools are an important place for prevention work. "Here we reach almost all children as well as young people for whom their teachers are important contacts," Gruner explained.

Innocence Executive Director Julia von Weiler emphasized, "Digital media are changing relationships, communication and the dynamics of violence." The training of teachers is an important step to better educate and protect children and young people. In the training sessions, the teachers learn to recognize potential dangers and the strategies of perpetrators, as well as how to deal with victims.

She knew him from working together in a workshop for the disabled. Petra Martens (name changed) thought nothing of it when she took her colleague to her apartment. But there he raped her twice. The 19-year-old is mentally handicapped due to an early childhood brain injury. Due to a lack of sexual education, she did not know what had happened to her. "She kept quiet at first, but later confided in a counselor," says Astrid Schafers.The head of a project against sexual violence against people with disabilities in Paderborn knows the fate of Petra Martens from her practice. While there are no official statistics, "it is estimated that disabled people are four times more likely to be victims of sexual violence than people without disabilities," says Schafers. The number of unreported cases is high: Every second disabled woman is said to have experienced sexual violence at least once.A topic that has long been taboo. But in the meantime, attention is growing. In the Paderborn district, the Caritas Association, the Social Service of Catholic Women, child and youth welfare services, institutions for the disabled and the district police authority have formed a working group. The project is funded by Aktion Mensch.Martina Puschke is project manager at "Weibernetz", a political interest group for disabled women based in Kassel. Even in her opinion, sexual abuse of people with disabilities is not addressed enough in Germany. Studies from Austria suggest that it is precisely in institutions for the disabled that assaults often occur."An estimated 60 percent of women there are victims of sexual violence," says Puschke.The perpetrators often come from the social environment of the disabled persons. Mostly there are dependencies. The fact that the number of assaults is particularly high in inpatient facilities encourages the self-help organization "Interessenvertretung Selbst bestimmt leben (ISL)" to call for more outpatient assistance for people with learning and mental disabilities."Sexual abuse is about the exercise of power and dominance," says Schafers. There is a great power imbalance, especially in the field of assistance for the disabled, because people with mental disabilities are existentially dependent on support. Lack of sex education among disabled people contributes to the fact that sexual abuse is often not discovered.The project in the district of Paderborn wants to raise awareness of the ie through prevention and counseling. This is also done by means of a puppet theater. Puppeteer Nelo Thies, who has so far performed mainly in kindergartens, will in the future show her plays in homes for the disabled, workshops and schools for the learning disabled. "Arms, legs, belly and butt are just mine, anyway," reads one of her lyrics.The district police in Paderborn hope that the project will lead to more sexual assaults and rapes being reported."Grabbing the breast of a girl with a learning disability is clearly an assault," says detective inspector Sonja Biermann, who is involved in the project.But project leader Astrid Schafers knows from experience that disabled people are afraid to talk about abuse. Petra Martens also did not defend herself and did not report the perpetrator, who was also disabled. "She didn't want anyone to know," says Schafers. Therefore, one goal of psychological counseling is to strengthen the disabled people in their personality. They should learn to draw boundaries with others.

Barbara Hendricks © Markus Nowak (KNA)

She is a politician and a Catholic: former Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks talks about the blessing of same-sex couples, about the Church and climate protection – and explains why she is not fighting for the diaconate of women.

CBA: Ms. Hendricks, in the Central Committee of German Catholics, you are fighting for changes in the Catholic Church. What are you personally advocating for?

Barbara Hendricks (member of the ZdK, SPD member of the Bundestag and former Federal Environment Minister): I very much welcome the fact that the Catholic Church in Germany is now embarking on a process of reform and dialogue, the so-called synodal path. I know that there are different currents within the bishops' conference and that this step was not easy for all bishops. I'm not sure if this process will lead to consensual results at all, or only to a few agreements between the laity on the one hand and the bishops' conference on the other. But in principle it is an important step toward the renewal of the Church in Germany.

CBA: What concrete results would you like to see?

Hendricks: I would like to see lay people more involved in the Church – beyond the Central Committee of German Catholics. We urgently need to talk about the ordination offices. I am aware that the Catholic Church is a universal church and that changes must be recognized by the Vatican. But in my view, there can be diversity within the one big church. If we do not achieve this diversity, I see a danger in the long run that the faithful will run away from the church in different regions of the world.

CBA: What exactly should be changed in the ordination offices?
Hendricks: All ordained offices must also be open to women. I have therefore never taken part in the initiatives for the diaconate of women. Why should women only be admitted to the diaconate, but not to the priesthood and the episcopate? There is no reason for this.

CBA: Can you identify with the Maria 2 movement?.0 identify?

Hendricks: Yes. Mary 2.0 is a really remarkable initiative. The fact that women stayed away from all honorary positions in the church for a week was more than a strike and a strong signal.

If the Catholic Church in Germany didn't have the many women volunteers, it would have died long ago.

CBA: You are married to a woman and thus live in a partnership that is not sanctioned by your church. What changes would you like to see in this area?

Hendricks: I don't expect my church to allow same-sex couples to give each other the sacrament of marriage. That might still be too much to ask. But I do expect my church to bless same-sex partnerships. There is really no reason to bless horses, tractors and houses, but not homosexual couples. This cannot be right.
CBA: Do you believe that the churches will be able to restore the trust lost as a result of the abuse scandal??
Hendricks: I believe so. But this will still take a lot of effort and time. The first prerequisite is a clear acknowledgement of what has happened. After many years, this has finally happened.

In addition, the way the official church deals with those affected is important – as is the way it deals with those who committed the transgressions and are still alive. Finally, the Church must ensure that new incidents are not covered up in the future and that perpetrators are transferred back and forth. All this must be neatly worked through to regain trust.

CBA: Do you see the churches on a good path there?
Hendricks: This is different in every diocese. I believe that in most dioceses at least an effort is being made. Whether the church is really already on a good path, I'm not sure.
CBA: The topic of climate protection is on everyone's lips at the moment. In your view, what are the most important steps that need to be taken now?
Hendricks: Germany has set itself the goal of cutting CO2 by a total of 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. To do this, we must bring about changes in five sectors: energy, industry, transportation, construction and agriculture. We need clear guidelines for each of these fields in order to create reliability for all those involved.
CBA: That is, without prohibitions and restrictions it will not go?
Hendricks: No. We need limits set by law. This is not new. In addition, I think it is also reasonable to work with incentives, which is also already common practice. Those who install a new heating system in their home can already get subsidies. However, the funding programs could be even more targeted.
CBA: Where do you see the greatest challenge?
Hendricks: In traffic. In urban areas, motorized individual traffic must be reduced. This requires appropriate offers such as car sharing, better public transport and reasonable bicycle lanes. By the way, this is a basic principle for all areas: We must create a good offer to make uninteresting what we really do not want.
CBA: What do you think of Greta Thunberg and the "Fridays for Future" movement?
Hendricks: I am particularly pleased about this because now, at last, politics is being debated again – also in families. Some demands of the movement cannot be implemented so quickly, but the direction is right. That young people are more impatient and somewhat more demanding of their goals than older people is, after all, absolutely normal.
CBA: What role would you assign to the churches in this climate protection debate??

Hendricks: The churches have an important role to play, first of all in a narrower sense, because they have a lot of buildings. Here they have already compiled quite good handouts. In a broader sense, they need to raise their voices from the point of view of preserving creation.

They are allowed to do that a bit more.

CBA: What should the churches be advocating in concrete terms??

Hendricks: They should make it clear to citizens – whether they believe in God or not – that they have a responsibility and that they can live a good life also with a different kind of consumption. I am not in favor of always preaching renunciation. We have to live differently in the future, but that doesn't mean we have to live worse.

The interview was conducted by Michael Althaus.

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