Safeguarding

Through hospitality, personal closeness and trust are created. These must not be used to harm others. In view of this, everyone involved in the European Meeting will make a big effort to help build an atmosphere in which everyone, regardless of origin, culture or age, is treated with respect.

The following pledge will help to maintain healthy boundaries in our dealings with each other:

I undertake to uphold the psychological, physical and sexual integrity of all persons and refrain from any behaviour that violates this. I will show the maximum respect for people’s privacy and intimacy.
By communicating openly, I will draw my counterpart’s attention to behaviour that transgresses my own or other peoples boundaries.

See also: What are we referring to?

Reporting an incident

Who can I talk to when I feel or observe something disturbing, or when someone confides in me? What should I do if I myself am a victim of sexual violence/harassment or spiritual abuse? What should I do if I notice this in the people around me during my stay in Ljubljana?

Don’t stay all alone. Always seek help from the following safeguarding services. You can choose from the following options:

Call the European Meeting’s safeguarding team (available 24 hours a day during the meeting) or send an sms on:
+386 69 915 710 (Tomaž Mikuš, catholic priest and spiritual assistant for survivors of physical, emotional or sexual abuse)
or +386 69 915 717 (Katja Jarc, psychotherapist)
You can come and ask for the European Meeting’s safeguarding team at
Stari trg 34 (from 10am to 3pm)
or the information point in the Arena Stožice (from 5pm to 8pm)
You can get in touch with independent safeguarding organisations in your own country via their helplines. In Slovenia, a helpline exists:
Društvo SOS: 080-11-55, email: sostelefon@drustvo-sos.si

What can I do if I am already back home and I need to share something difficult that happened to me or that I witnessed during my stay in Ljubljana?

There are several options:

speak with someone you trust from the group you came with.
write to the Reports Reception and Monitoring Team: taize.safeguarding@protonmail.com
This address is managed by a group of three people who are not members of the Taizé Community : Cécile Jubert, Psychotherapist specialising in the subject of sexual violence (France), Noël Rosé, Honorary lawyer (France), and Alzira Fernandez, psycho-spiritual counselor (Portugal).
contact a national hotline.
speak with a local church safeguarding officer.