Report on sex abuse in Germany's Protestant Church documents at least 2,225 victims

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy At least 1,259 people working for the Protestant Church of Germany have committed sexual abuse in the last decades and at least 2,225 victims were affected by the abuse according to an independent report published Thursday. “It’s the tip of the tip of the iceberg,” said Martin Wazlawik from Hannover University, who coordinated the study on sexualized violence in the Protestant Church in Germany. At the presentation of the study in Hannover, the head of the Council of the Protestant Church in Germany, also known as EKD, apologized to the victims “wholeheartedly.” “As an institution, we have also been guilty of countless crimes against countless people,” Hamburg Bishop Kirsten Fehrs said, adding that she was “deeply shocked” by the overall picture presented by the study. “Ever since I have been dealing with this topic, I have been sincerely shaken by the abysmal violence that has been inflicted on so many people in our church,” Fehrs said, adding that the church would accept the results of the study “with humility.” This report comes several years after Germany's Catholic Church published staggering numbers on sexual abuse by its clergy.