Fund “Sexual Abuse in the Family” and the “Supplementary Help System in the Institutional Area”

To help sufferers alleviate the consequences of sexual abuse, the Federal Government launched the “Sexual Abuse in the Family” fund on 1 May 2013 as the first part of the so-called “Supplementary Help System“.

Who is the family fund for??

The fund aims to support people who have been sexually abused in their childhood or adolescence in the family or in the family environment and who still suffer from the consequences. Not only (large) parents and siblings, but also persons in the family environment, eg “family close-up area” count. B. the partner of the mother or the babysitter. An overview of the groups belonging to the close-by family includes the performance guidelines that can be downloaded from the Fund’s website. The fund is aimed at those who receive no or insufficient benefits from existing assistance systems such as statutory and private health insurance, statutory and private accident insurance or benefits under the Victims Compensation Act.

Which services can be requested?

The “Family Sexual Abuse” fund offers various options for supplementing the benefits of the legal and social legislation. For these so-called “benefits in kind” a maximum of 10,000 euros per person are available. Up to this maximum limit, the following aids, also side by side, can be granted:

Psychotherapeutic aids:

Continuation of psychotherapy after completion of the financing by the health insurance
Pre-financing or bridging finance at the beginning of a psychotherapy
Taking over the costs for psychotherapies, which are not taken over by the health insurance
Assumption of costs for recognized specialist therapies (including movement, music, ergo, art and animal therapies).

Acquisition of costs for the individual processing of the experience. This includes reasonable costs incurred in connection with trips to therapeutic sessions or costs incurred in connection with the use of self-help organization services.
Assistance with the procurement of medicines and aids, for example physiotherapy, occupational therapy, baths, massages, speech therapy (medical services) and wheelchairs, prostheses, hearing aids (factual medical services)
Assistance in dealing with authorities or courts, such as accompanying assistance or individual support, unless the costs are covered by other agencies
Support for further training and qualification measures, for example assuming the costs of completing schooling, taking up training or studies, and retraining
In addition, costs for travel to the counseling centers can also be covered. These are set by the clearing house and count towards the total amount of up to € 10,000 (plus any additional expenses due to disability). This also applies to a possible companion.
If there is a particular case of hardship, exceptionally, a non-regular support may be granted. This includes helping to improve mobility or the housing situation.

Can other affected people receive help??

The Family Sexual Abuse Fund is aimed at those who have experienced abuse at home.

Affected persons who have suffered sexual abuse by family members (so-called foreign offenders) in addition to family sexual abuse, as well as those who were sexually abused in institutions during their childhood or youth, can also receive benefits.

Requested assistance Persons affected solely in the institutional field are not funded by the Fund. For the institutional sector, therefore, the “Supplementary Assistance System in the Institutional Area” is available as far as the institutions participate in this aid system.
Up-to-date information on the institutions involved can be found on the Fund’s website.

In any case, those affected should discuss their questions about the “supplementary help system” individually with a specialist.

Which institutions are part of the help system?

Originally applications could only be submitted to institutions until 31.08.2016. However, the federal government and some other institutions have extended the application period. Also beyond the 31.08.2016 (in each case up to the date indicated in brackets) applications can be made to the following institutions:

the German Bishops Conference (until 31.12.2019)
the Teutonic Order Conference (until 31.12.2019)
the Evangelical Church Germany including the Diakonie Deutschland (until 31.12.2019)
the German Red Cross (until the reform of the Social Compensation Law)
the German Child Protection Association (until 31.12.2019)
the Arbeiterwohlfahrt (until 31.12.2020)
the German Caritas Association (until 31.12.2019)
the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (until 31.12.2018)
the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (until 31.12.2019)
the country Berlin (until 31.12.2017)
the state of Brandenburg (until further notice)
the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (until 31.12.2018)
the SOS Children’s Village e. V. (until 31.12.2019)
the DAK health (until 31.12.2019)
the Albert-Schweitzer-Kinderdörfer e. V. Bundesverband (until 31.12.2019)
the German Life and Rescue Society e.V. (until 31.12.2020)
the Internationaler Bund – Freedom of Youth, Social and Educational Work e.V. (until 31.12.2020)
the Socialist Youth of Germany – The Falcons (until 31.05.2019)

For some institutions, it has not yet been decided whether they will continue to participate in the supplementary assistance system.

The current overview and further information on the “Supplementary Help System” / Fund “Sexual Abuse” can be found at www.fonds-missbrauch.de.

Fund for former home children

With both funds, victims can be granted assistance, as far as home education today still traumatization, other impairments and consequential damages exist and this special need for assistance is not covered by the existing assistance and insurance systems. In addition, those affected should be helped to work up their time of homecare. In cases where there has been a reduction in pension rights due to unpaid social security contributions, financial compensation should be granted through the Fund.

Further information can be found at www.fonds-heimerziehung.de.

Affected persons who have been sexually abused also in the family area, can also submit applications to the fund “Sexual abuse in the family area”. Affected institutions that participate in the Supplementary Assistance System for the Institutional Area can apply there. The prerequisite for this is that the persons affected did not receive any benefits from the Heimerziehung West fund or the home education fund in the GDR. Assistance can only be provided from one of the funds.

Further information on the “Supplementary Help System” / Fund “Sexual Abuse” can be found at www.fonds-missbrauch.de.

Foundation recognition and help

Inpatient facilities for people with disabilities or psychiatry have suffered and been wronged in the past. Many people who were housed there as children or adolescents are still suffering from the consequences today. For example, unjustified coercive measures, violence, punishment, humiliation or financial loss because they have worked in the institutions for social security without being paid into the pension fund. To support these people, the Confederation, the states and the churches have launched the Foundation’s recognition and help.

Registration with the foundation is possible until 31.12.2019. The following prerequisites must be met:

The person concerned was housed as a child or adolescent or adolescent (before the age of majority) in a stationary institution for the disabled or psychiatry,
The accommodation took place between 23.05.1949 and 31.12.1975 in the Federal Republic of Germany or between 07.10.1949 and 02.10.1990 in the German Democratic Republic,
the person has experienced individual suffering and injustice during the placement and is still suffering from the consequences or
the person worked in or for the institution between the age of 14 and the age of majority without social security contributions being paid.

The foundation supports through public recognition of the experienced suffering and injustice, recognition by scholarly processing of the suffering and injustice experiences, individual recognition through a personal conversation in the start-up and counseling centers and support by financial aid.

The financial aid includes a one-time lump-sum payment for self-determined use of 9,000 euros and for those who have worked under social insurance, a one-off pension replacement benefit.

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