Portugal holds a prominent position in the fight against child abuse and proved it again last week by opening the photo exhibition ‘SHAME – European Stories’ to the public for the second time. This time, the exhibition – which brings together over sixty portraits of abuse survivors from around twenty European countries taken by photographer Simone Padovani – was set up in Lisbon in the Colombo Shopping Centre. The inauguration was attended by Guido Fluri, president of the Guido Fluri Foundation and initiator of Justice Initiative, Dulche Rocha, president of the Institute for Child Support (IAC) and actress Melânia Gomes.
In the country, as elsewhere in Europe, new cases of child abuse continue to emerge. Sexual abuse in the home or in church, forced adoptions, child labour, exploitation and estrangement from their families: the range of cases is vast and involves tens of thousands of minors. “Victims still suffer from the abuse they suffered as children. However, most countries have not yet recognized, accepted or repaired this. This is not compatible with European values.”, Guido Fluri told the audience.
Among the various portraits taken by the Italian photographer Padovani, several are featuring victims of abuse in Portugal. This is – according to IAC President Dulce Rocha – proof that decisive action is also needed in the country: “They come from all corners of the country, they have been abused as children in different contexts. From the church to society and politics, we all have to give justice to these victims.”
One of the photographs in the exhibition portrays the well-known Portuguese actress Melânia Gomes, who a few months ago made her abuse case public. Also speaking at the opening ceremony, the actress said that the exhibition ‘is meant to be an encouragement for survivors of abuse. Their stories cannot continue to be silenced. If we do not look at the past today, we cannot build the future,’ said Gomes.
At the end of April, the exhibition ‘SHAME – European Stories’ had already been presented at Lusíada University: the event had been organised as part of the Month for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment and was intended to be a moment of reflection on sexual violence and physical abuse, with the participation of national and international experts.
In 2021, the IAC joined the initiative launched by the “Guido Fluri Foundation” and became a partner in the “Justice Initiative” project, whose mission is to recognize the suffering of child victims of any kind of abuse/violence in Europe (even if some are now adults), as well as their psychological recovery and reparation.
