RUN AGAINST THE SILENCE AND THE FORGOTTEN VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ABUSE

JOERG, born 1970, belongs to a group of male victims of psychological violence and sexual abuse. His then stepfather sexually abused him from the age of 7 to 9 years old. In the early 1990’s, he sought psychological help and confided in someone for the first time. From this experience, he found the strength and courage to take legal action. However, as the time period to file his claim had expired, the offender was let go without any form of punishment.

Today JOERG is no longer silent. Years of abuse will continue to shape his future and will always be present in his everyday life. However, now as a family father himself, he has enough strength to see his experiences as part of his history and a contributing factor in the shaping of his identity. Above all he has accepted that he cannot undo the abuse that was inflicted upon him.

On 5 April 2013 JÖRG strapped on his running shoes for the first time in order to draw attention to the need to eradicate the abuse of children and to fight for all the children who have endured sexual, psychological and physical abuse. On 19 June 2014 I ran together with him a part of his “Run for Life” projects (“Westerwaldsteig-run”) benefiting vulnerable abuse victims. Together we are raising awareness of the plight of the victims.

It is often pointed out that repression and forgetting the past are not alternatives to the truth. We need to rally courage, courage to pay attention and help. JOERG wants to reach out to other sexually abused victims and encourage them to open up, to join him and in turn, break their silence. The more victims break their silence and acknowledge the truth, the more our society will recognize sexually abuse victims and take their stories seriously.

The following project have been supported:

  • INITIATIVE GEGEN GEWALT UND SEXUELLEN MISSBRAUCH AN KINDERN UND JUGENDLICHEN E.V. (counselling and support services to prevent violence and sexual abuse, www.initiative-gegen-gewalt.de)

We were able to support further the following projects:

  • ZARTBITTER E.V.
    (projects to protect children, teenagers and young adults against abuse, www.zartbitter.de)
  • DEUTSCHER KINDERSCHUTZBUND ORTSVERBAND RHEINE E.V.
    (counselling service point against violence against children and teenagers, www.dksbrh.de)
  • ÄRTZLICHE BERATUNGSSTELLE E.V. DATTELN
    (counselling service point for children, teenagers and adults in case of malpractice and sexual abuse, www.aeb-datteln.de)
  • KINDERSCHUTZZENTRUM DORTMUND
    (specialist counselling against abuse and malpractice against children, teenagers and young adults until the age of 26, www.kinderschutzzentrum-dortmund.de)