«Cono Sur»

A group of Brothers from Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Argentina participated in a workshop on child sexual abuse. Throughout the workshop we gradually became aware of and were deeply touched by the breadth and complexity of this issue.

Thanks to the excellent animation of Dr. María Paz Ábalos we were able to grasp the complex dynamics of the problem. We initially became acquainted with the victims’ perspective in order to understand their silence and the importance of verbalizing during the healing process. We then approached the world of the perpetrator (aggressor), and of the other people who somehow are part of the situation, and were able to see the big picture regarding the impact of abuse in all the spheres of the victim’s life and habitat. We were able to study these topics deeply thoroughly to the animator’s in-depth knowledge of the subject, and to the many concrete examples coming from her extensive clinical experience. 

We finally discussed the sense and purpose of the child abuse prevention and treatment policies, and the respective protocol of action.

Given the challenges posed by this issue, we feel the need to help the people involved in our works become aware of it, so that the necessary protocol can be established, defining the policies, the support and treatment guidelines, and the keys to prevention, making sure the entire staff understands the institutional proceedings regarding the problem.

The challenge is to decisively collaborate with this step humanity is taking towards a greater dignity of children and adolescents, fully respecting their rights. Time is pressing us to start doing everything in our power to banish all forms of abuse particularly targeting children and adolescents.

We thank the Province Santa María de los Andes for this excellent and helpful initiative aimed at helping us educators give an adequate response to all the people involved in our Marist works regarding the problem of child sexual abuse.