Safeguarding

At the turn of the millennium, the crisis of sexual abuse changed the societal landscape, first disclosed in the western and English-speaking world and found to be problematic everywhere. A growing awareness of its epic proportions -- from the recognition in the 1970s of the prevalence and lasting harm of incest to the uncovering of sexual abuse by clergy to the #metoo movement's spotlight on abuse in various sectors ' has called attention to the suffering of victims. Although sexual abuse is not exclusively an internal matter of the Church, this book limits its scope to the abuse that happened to children and young people within the context of the Catholic Church. The Church has to respond to the many questions raised by this terrible reality; its leaders and all faithful have to put victims first and proactively engage in safe-guarding minors in the present and the future.00This is the first publication in the book series of the Centre for Child Protection (CCP). The CCP, which is part of the Institute of Psychology of the Pontifical Gregorian University, aims at preventing sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable people through formation and scientific research.