[How Active is the Catholic Church in the Prevention of Sexual Abuse? Preliminary Results of the MHG-Study].

OBJECTIVE: A subproject of the study "Sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests and deacons in the authority of the German Bishops' conference" deals with aspects of prevention.

METHOD: Structured questions were used to record objective data on preventive work. The questionnaire was completed in all 27 dioceses of Germany.

RESULTS: The average hourly rate available for the work of the prevention officers is about 30 hours per week. At the end of 2014, 59 % of clerics were involved in preventive training. The temporal extent of prevention training differs greatly between individual dioceses.

DISCUSSION: The Catholic Church of Germany has undertaken extensive efforts to implement a comprehensive prevention work to avoid sexual abuse of minors within catholic institutions. However, there are considerable differences between the individual dioceses.