Germany’s major Protestant churches have agreed on binding standards on how to deal with allegations of sexual misconduct or violence.

The standards will apply throughout the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD), an umbrella organisation of several mainstream Protestant denominations, and Diakonie Deutschland.

Diakonie Deutschland is a major social welfare organisation affiliated with the EKD, which runs numerous institutions and charitable groups.

The joint declaration was signed on Wednesday by leaders of EKD and Diakonie as well as the German government’s independent commissioner for child sexual abuse issues, Kerstin Claus.

According to Claus and the EKD, the standards were largely drawn up by advocates for those affected by sexual abuse.

“After the long phase of negotiations, it is now important that the regional churches and regional Diakonie organisations to implement the joint declaration comprehensively and bindingly as quickly as possible and that there are no further delays,” said Mr Claus.

The joint declaration will create nine regional independent review commissions made up of experts from academia, the judiciary, victims’ groups, churches, and charitable organisations.

The EKD said the commissions would begin their work within the next several months.

There has been repeated criticism of the mainstream Protestant churches for being too slow to come to terms with sexual abuse and violence.

Mr Claus has previously criticised the EKD for failing to create an independent structure to consider financial compensation for victims of sexual abuse at Protestant institutions.

Churches that belong to the EKD count about 19 million members, making it the second-largest religious group in Germany after the Catholic Church.

The EKD is largely made up of Lutheran and Reformed churches and some other Protestant denominations.

(dpa/NAN)