Deetman Recommends Special Mediation for Victims of Violence against Women in the Roman Catholic Church

Onderzoekrk.nl
March 11, 2013

http://www.onderzoekrk.nl/fileadmin/commissiedeetman/data/downloads/Tweede_onderzoek/Deetman.vervolgonderzoek.persbericht_C_Engels.pdf

[view document]

THE HAGUE, 11 March 2013 – Special mediation by professional mediators should be provided for female victims of (excessive) violence within the Roman Catholic Church to offer them healing, acknowledgement and reparation, in combination with financial compensation. Drs. W.J. (Wim) Deetman recommends that the Catholic Church should facilitate this mediation to show its concern about the violence that has been reported by victims. Deetman makes the recommendation in the final report of the follow-up inquiry conducted under his chairmanship into the abuse of and violence against girls within the Catholic Church.

The findings of this independent inquiry, which was carried out between August 2012 and the beginning of 2013, do not provide sufficient basis for a sharply defined, clearcut definition of (excessive) violence that can be used widely and with retrospective effect. In the absence of a clear definition of (excessive) violence, the existing complaints procedure cannot be applied. Deetman recommends that complaints of violence should therefore be handled through this programme of special mediation.

This inquiry was a follow-up to the Commission’s earlier inquiry, also under Deetman’s chairmanship, into sexual abuse of minors (boys and girls) in the Catholic Church. The original Commission of Inquiry’s final report was published at the end of 2011. The research organisation that carried out this follow-up study focused not only on sexual abuse, but also on (excessive) physical and psychological violence against female minors within the Catholic Church in the Netherlands since 1945. Both inquiries were commissioned by the Conference of Bishops and the Conference of Religious in the Netherlands (KNR).

Research questions and sources

The main objectives of the follow-up to the earlier enquiry were:

 to provide more insight into the nature, seriousness, circumstances and impact of sexual abuse and (excessive) physical and psychological violence against underage women within the Roman Catholic Church, as well as accountability for it