Global General
European abuse hot lines log jump in calls
(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-04-13 19:12
 |
Large Medium Small |
|
|
VIENNA -- Telephone hot lines in Europe offering help to people claiming abuse by Roman Catholic priests are being deluged with calls as the crisis spreads -- with one center reporting complaints jumping from about 10 cases a year to more than a thousand in the past few weeks.
"Until now, many people were afraid they wouldn't be respected," said Max Friedrich, a prominent Austrian psychiatrist. "There's also a certain comfort knowing you're not the only one to have experienced such abuse."
In the Netherlands, the Help and Law line was set up in 1995 and generally dealt with roughly 10 reports of abuse per year. Since March it has received some 1,300 new reports, said Pieter Kohnen, spokesman for the Dutch Bishops' Conference, which runs the line.
As with similar help lines, not every complaint turns into an actual case -- meaning the caller is assigned a legal adviser to guide him or her through the process.
Still, Help and Law is now dealing with nearly 50 cases, compared with 10 to 14 for most years, and the number is likely to rise further as the center plows through a backlog of complaints, according to spokesman Ben Spekman.
"We have started more cases in the last month than in the previous three years combined," Spekman said. "It is a significant increase."
Spekman said the hot line is also attracting people who feel compelled to give their reaction to reports of abuse. Some other callers report abuse that happened to a deceased loved one. In neither case would such calls lead to a formal complaint procedure.
Germany's bishops conference, which launched its hot line on March 30, reported this week that 2,700 people have called it in its first three days, while an older number in Germany run by a pro-reform group, We Are Church, said calls have jumped dramatically.
"In the past eight years we received about 300 calls total; in the past four to five weeks alone, we have gotten 100 calls," said Annegret Laakmann, a spokeswoman for We are Church.
In general, the hot lines offer an initial open ear to victims. Laakmann said that in Germany every complaint is believed without question. In some cases, the hot lines offer a chance to speak to a psychologist, or help finding one. In cases where legal avenues can be pursued, they counsel victims in how to approach authorities.
