The research association "ForuM - Researchon the processing of sexualized violence andother forms of abusein the Protestant Church and Diaconia in Germany" has the goal of presenting an analysis of Protestant structures and systemic conditions that promote (sexualized) violence and abuse of power, thus providing an empirical basis for further steps in the Protestant church and diaconia. Sub-project A - "Protestant specifics" sheds light on the historical dimensions of sexualized violence in the Protestant churches after 1945: What enabled and facilitated sexualized violence in church congregations, in diaconal institutions or in other institutions affiliated with Protestant churches? What role was played by the social context and the political system in which the churches were embedded and to which they had to relate? What specific religious and theological ideas and discourses of the time shaped the way in which the Protestant churches dealt with sexuality, for example with regard to sexual morality? How did this affect the church's approach to sexualized violence? These questions are pursued using a method-triangulating procedure. The focus is on the analysis of narrative interviews and historical sources.

The project at the HSRM is being carried out as part of a research cooperation between the Research Center for Contemporary History in Hamburg and the HSRM. This involves continuing to work on a case study in a community context.