The president of the Independent Commission on sexual abuse of minors in the Catholic Church estimated on Wednesday at least "3,000" the number of victims in France since 1950. Over this period, the number of perpetrators of sexual assault within of the Church cannot be “less than 1,500”, added during a videoconference Jean-Marc Sauvé.
These provisional figures come from a first feedback from surveys carried out in the archives of dioceses and religious congregations by the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (Ciase), set up in 2018 by the episcopate. At the same time, the telephone platform for calls for testimony set up by his committee a year ago received "5,300 calls," he said, adding that some people were likely to contact her several times.
"Intimately convinced that there are many more victims"
"It is the first time" that such an estimate is made for France, he recognized, saying "intimately convinced that there are many more victims". "What we don't know at all is how to combine these two sources (calls to the platform and investigative work, note)," added Jean-Marc Sauvé. “These are two different sources which do not overlap but can be added in part. "
He also underlined the provisional nature of these data: the call for testimony is extended until October 31 and investigations into the archives are still in progress. Other work started before confinement and suspended during this period will also resume. La Ciase, created under pressure after the revelation of several scandals, must submit its balance sheet and its recommendations in late September-early October 2021.
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