DThe largest Protestant scout association wants to address sexual violence within its own ranks. The Association of Christian Boy Scouts (VCP) asked victims and contemporary witnesses to come forward and participate in a study on Monday. The investigation should not only determine the extent of the abuse, but also its structural and ideological background. The Boy Scout Association, which claims to have around 20,000 active members, is currently aware of 64 cases of abuse.
However, those responsible are expecting a significantly higher number of cases. Hierarchies and close relationships in the Boy Scouts are factors that fundamentally encourage sexual violence, said VCP federal executive Peter Keil. However, the association is determined to “wipe away the cloak of repression and concealment” and to prove to the victims that they “are heard, are compensated and recognize the consequences for perpetrators and accomplices”.
Were there perpetrator networks?
The contract for the study was received by the Munich “Institute for Practical Research and Project Consulting”, which has already investigated the cases of abuse in the Ettal monastery and is involved in studies on sexualized violence in the Protestant church (“ForuM study”) and in another scout association , the results of which will be presented soon. Institute employee Peter Caspari explained that the two-and-a-half-year project should also clarify whether there were also perpetrator networks in the scout association.
The VCP is spending a total of 500,000 euros from its own resources for the study and additional benefits in kind for those affected. This corresponds to around half of the organization's annual budget, which is financed primarily from membership fees and has set aside reserves for the project. The impetus for the debate was largely provided by Harald Wiester, who made his experience of abuse in the VCP public in 2019.
In the background, there is also a struggle over the financing of so-called recognition services for those affected, which may come to the association. The association is currently holding discussions with the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) and its regional churches. “We are clearly hoping for cooperation,” said VCP federal executive Keil, because his association alone would be overwhelmed with such payments. A VCP representative said the funding of recognition services is likely to have a “completely different dimension” than funding the study.
As with many other youth associations, the VCP's processing of sexual violence takes place in a gray area. The association, which is formally a club, was not included in the large ForuM study on the Protestant church, although the local Protestant scouts are often closely linked to the church community structures. There are also different approaches within the federal structures of the VCP.
The Hessian VCP association informed the FAZ on Monday that, unlike the federal association, it is already promising recognition services and is relying on cooperation with the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau, which will also cover the majority of the costs. The aim is not to stab the VCP federal level in the back, but rather to ensure that the association's structural problems do not become problems for those affected.
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