Johannes-Wilhelm Rorig to become new Independent Abuse Commissioner of the German government. The 52-year-old lawyer will step down on 1. December to succeed Christine Bergmann, whose term ended in October. Rorig, until now sub-department head for children and youth in the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, talks about his new mandate in an interview.
CBA: Mr. Rorig, you were Ms. Bergmann's office manager for many years and most recently, as a ministerial assistant in the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, you were responsible for monitoring her work. As the new commissioner for abuse, are you now continuing Ms. Bergmann's work one-to-one??
Rorig: Ms. Bergmann will definitely be a role model for me. However, as a new commissioner I now have somewhat changed tasks. I will focus primarily on implementing the recommendations of the Round Table against Child Sexual Abuse.
CBA: Next Wednesday, the Round Table will meet for the last time and present its final report. What to expect?
Rorig: Many of the recommendations from Ms. Bergmann's final report are also reflected in the Round Table's final report. But various points were not included at all or not clearly enough. I will check to what extent these can be followed up anyway.
CBA: What was not included?
Rorig: For example, some recommendations on the legal field, i.e. the Victim Compensation Act and victim protection. For example, the psychosocial support of victim witnesses in criminal proceedings. But even in the area of statutory health insurance, not all the ies raised have been clarified yet. This is primarily about therapy offers for those affected, especially in the area of specialized and alternative therapies such as trauma therapy or creative therapies. Also open is the question of how significant gaps in the area of counseling are to be closed. There is a lack of comprehensive services, for example for boys or older victims.
CBA: And what are your own priorities now?
Rorig: For me, it is crucial that the Round Table's many recommendations are now quickly implemented in a consistent and binding manner. The focus is on implementing the guidelines on prevention and intervention.
The German Bishops' Conference and the German Sports Federation, for example, have already produced good guidelines. But those responsible in the facilities must now also apply them effectively.
CBA: And you control whether this happens?
Rorig: Yes, I will be watching very closely in the coming months to see whether this happens, but I will also provide support. I would also like to focus on improving assistance for the victims themselves. Reforming the existing statutory systems, such as statutory health insurance or the Victims' Compensation Act, is a key part of this. All in all, it seems to me that there is now a huge opportunity to reduce the number of cases of child sexual abuse in Germany and also to permanently improve assistance for victims.
CBA: Can you be more specific about that?
Rorig: The planned establishment of an online help portal is an example of how help can be improved. The idea is to work with victims and counseling centers to develop an online help option that can be accessed uniformly throughout Germany and makes counseling and help immediately available to those affected by sexual violence.
CBA: You have stated that the end of the Round Table should not be allowed to bring calm to the situation. Do you see the danger?
Rorig: The danger always exists, especially after such an intensive work process as that of the last 18 months. But I am convinced that it is really important now to begin implementation seamlessly.
CBA: Ms. Bergmann has repeatedly reported how emotionally stressful her work as abuse commissioner was…
Rorig: I have the utmost respect for this. In my professional career I have often come into contact with cases of sexual child abuse and I know how close the subject matter and contact with individual cases can be. I have often spoken with Ms. Bergmann about this topic in recent months. She has read all the letters from the victims herself, and has spoken to many of them personally. I will do that as well, because it is important for the work to be in immediate contact. If the burdens become too great, however, I am certainly not afraid to articulate this and to deal with it openly.
The interview was conducted by Karin Wollschlager.