Victims of church sex abuse in Portugal may number over 4,800

In Portugal, at least 4,815 children have been sexually abused by members of the Catholic Church, mostly by priests, since 1950.

The BBC and Reuters report this with reference to the investigation of an independent commission created by the Portuguese Episcopal Conference.

In general, investigators recorded 564 experiences of people who said they were victims of abuse by priests or other church officials. In total, documented cases indicate at least 4,815 victims of sexual violence.

In many cases, in their testimonies, witnesses indicated that other minors were abused. Due to this fact, there are significantly more victims than people who have already given evidence. However, the commission claimed this was only the tip of the iceberg.

77% of the perpetrators were priests, and most victims were of the male sex. They became victims in Catholic schools, churches, priests' houses, confessionals, and other places. The majority of the sexual abuses took place when the children were aged 10-14, with the youngest victim being just two-years-old.

Child psychiatrist Pedro Strecht headed the commission. He paid tribute to people who were victims of sexual violence as children and dared to speak about it.

"They are much more than just statistics," he said.

Subsequently, the president of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference and the bishop of Leiria-Fátima, José Ornelas, should make a statement. He said the special conference meeting would be the best way to ensure "justice" for the victims.

A total of 25 of the testimonies heard by the commission were sent to the public prosecutors' offices for investigation. Many others fell outside the statute of limitations.

This investigation in Portugal began in January 2022. It started after an investigation in France showed that about 216,000 children were victims of sexual violence by Catholic churchmen in that country.