On December 5-6, 2024, Justice Initiative organised an international conference in Strasbourg – together with the Commission for Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development of the Council of Europe (CoE) and the Swiss delegation to the CoE Parliamentary Assembly – at the Palais de l’Europe. The aim of the event was to show member states how the issue of reparation can be tackled by following Switzerland’s example. The conference was attended by numerous ministers, ambassadors and high-ranking politicians from across the continent who were convinced of the need for action.
The way was paved by CoE resolution 2533, which was passed with no dissenting votes last January, together with a set of recommendations following the demands of a motion by Swiss national councillor Pierre-Alain Fridez and Justice Initiative.
In his speech, Swiss Justice Minister Beat Jans said that promoting the welfare of children is one of the most important things that can be done at the political level: the decision of several states to address this issue and seek solutions based on the Swiss model of reparation for victims of abuse is commendable.
During the conference, the results of the ‘Our Voice’ survey conducted by Protect Children, a Justice Initiative partner organisation, questioning more than 20,000 victims of child sexual abuse in Europe were presented. They showed that most abuse has serious consequences, including depression, relationship problems and anxiety disorders.
Although 67% of victims disclosed their experiences, almost half did not report them until 11 years after the violence. Sixty-nine per cent of them received no support and 89% reported that the report did not lead to a police investigation. According to Protect Children, the situation clearly shows that the implementation of resolution 2533 is urgent.
Words of praise for initiatives working in this direction were expressed by Najat Maalla M’jid, UN Special Representative on Violence against Children: ‘I welcome the guidelines contained in this CoE resolution to prevent and combat violence against children in public, private and religious institutions,’ she said in a video message.
The implementation of resolution 2533 is also an issue within the Catholic Church: Hans Zollner, director of the Institute of Anthropology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and the Catholic Church’s leading expert on child protection, was also present in Strasbourg.
To the press release: Press Release (EN)
To read the Resolution 2533: Resolution 2533
To all articles and reports published in the media: Press Center
