Research on Ced Violence and Other Forms of Abuse in the Protestant church (ForuM/TPB)

The project is a sub-study of the research consortium "Research into the processing of sexualised violence and other forms of abuse in the Protestant Church" (ForuM).

Bild einer Garderobe mit Kinderkleidung und -schuhen — © AdobeStock/annanahabed

Project status:

finalised

Period:

28/02/2021 – 30/10/2023

Type:

Research project

Profile:

Social Space – Education, Participation, Community

Organisational Unit:

Department of Social and Educational Sciences

Project participants:

Svenja Bluhm Hanna Gritzka Friederike Lorenz-Sinai

From 2021 to 2023, the interdisciplinary research network ForuM investigated the processing of sexualised violence and other forms of abuse in the Protestant Church in Germany. Further information about the research network and upcoming publications can be found at: www.forum-studie.de

The final report was published in January 2024:
Forschungsverbund ForuM (ed.) (2024): Final report - Research on the processing of sexualised violence and other forms of abuse in the Protestant Church and Diaconia in Germany. Available for download here: https://forum-studie.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Abschlussbericht_For…

The FHP was involved in the sub-project "Organisation and person: systemic conditions and the practice of coming to terms with (sexualised) violence" under the co-head of Prof. Dr Friederike Lorenz-Sinai. The sub-study is interested in the conditions, processes and constellations of coming to terms with sexualised violence in Protestant communities and day-care centres. To this end, four multi-perspective case studies were conducted. One case study concerns youth work in Protestant parishes. Two case studies examine the practice of dealing with (suspected) cases of sexualised violence by professionals in Protestant day-care centres. A further case study is located at the interface between Protestant daycare centres and parishes and examines the organisational processing after assaults by children in a parish daycare centre and by employees at the parish workplace.

Document analyses were conducted and narrative interviews and group discussions were held with victims, parents, reported persons, professionals and institutional representatives of the church and local authorities in order to reconstruct the practice of dealing with the various cases. The data material was analysed using methodological approaches from interpretative and reconstructive social research.

Final report: https://forum-studie.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Abschlussbericht_For…