Grupo Vita releases 10 Commandments guide to preventing sexual abuse in the church

This Tuesday, Grupo Vita presents guidelines for the prevention of sexual violence in the context of the Catholic Church, based on the “10 Commandments,” said the coordinator of the structure, which will also publish a report on the first six months of activity.

The figures and “Guidelines for the prevention of sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults in the context of the Catholic Church in Portugal” will be announced at a 3.30pm press conference in Lisbon, but psychologist Rute Agulhas expects it to happen. it is necessary to increase the level of knowledge in this area.

“We know a lot about sexual abuse in general, but we know little about sexual abuse in this particular context of the Church. We need to be more aware of the specifics of this context,” he told Lusa.

Without wanting to go into detail about the manual, whose motto is “Know, prevent, act – for a culture of care and protection”, the coordinator of the Vita group emphasizes that this work is the result of joint reflection between executive and consulting services, professional experience in this field and an extensive review of existing literature on sexual violence.

According to Rute Agulhas, among the 10 commandments is the importance of breaking taboos; the importance of creating a safe and secure environment through codes of conduct and best practice; defining policies and reporting channels; and listening to victims.

The Vita Group coordinator adds that the guide, which is also due to be available online on Tuesday, aims to “systematize best practices”, although no time frame or methodology has been established for its implementation in structures and bodies associated with the Catholic Church in Portugal.

“There are no time limits because in the context of sexual violence prevention there are different rhythms and pathways between different agencies. The idea is for each entity to look at the guidance and adapt according to its context and activities,” he explains. .

Grupo Vita will also provide data for the first six months of operations since it began operations in May. According to the latest report, published at the end of October, the structure has already received 62 requests for help from victims of sexual abuse in the Church, with 12 people receiving psychological support and two others receiving psychiatric support.

Grupo Vita can be contacted via its hotline (91 509 0000) or through the registration form, now available on the website www.grupovita.pt.

Created in April within the framework of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference, it is an impartial, autonomous and independent body whose purpose is to welcome, listen to, monitor and prevent situations of sexual abuse against children and vulnerable adults in the context of the Catholic Church.

Grupo Vita arose from the work of the Independent Commission into Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church, headed by pediatric psychiatrist Pedro Strecht, which over the course of almost a year confirmed 512 testimonies of cases occurring between 1950 and 2022, indicating that to extrapolate to to a minimum number of victims of 4815 people.