Panamanian courts have so far admitted seven of the 35 civil lawsuits filed three months ago for alleged mistreatment and child abuse against children and adolescents in SOS Children’s Villages in Panama, which occurred during the 1980s and 1990s with knowledge, according to the lawyers. of the plaintiffs, of the highest authorities of the organization.
The legal action is directed against the SOS CVI / SOS Children’s Villages International, based in Austria, since those affected and their defense lawyers blame the head of the organization for not having done anything when the complaints of abuses were received in a model of family care operating worldwide, caring for children who have lost their parents or are at risk of losing them.
After initiating the civil process before the Civil Circuit Courts of the First Judicial Circuit of Panama, the lawyers assured in a press conference that they have received at least 27 new accusations of cases from more than 30 years ago.
“The people affected make SOS CVI / SOS Children’s Villages International civilly responsible, either by action or omission,” explained Rogelio Samudio, lawyer for the victims, now adults, who are seeking financial compensation for what happened.
“For us, talking about this issue again has been very difficult, and I say come back because we spoke as children, we denounced seeking protection and we were heard, but nobody did anything to defend us and the abuses continued to occur,” said one of the women who filed the complaint. the demand. The organization asked not to reveal her identity as a protection measure.
The lawsuits filed were distributed in the 18 civil circuit courts and, except for the seven cases already admitted for processing, most are in the stage of qualifying their admission. They may be subject to correction or even rejection. “It is important to point out that some have already been admitted, others have been ordered corrected,” explained the lawyer.
Domingo E. Barrios III, president of the Board of Directors of the Association of SOS Children’s Villages of Panama, clarified that the local organization supports the plaintiffs.
Barrios assured that knowledge of the abuses reached the highest level, including the world president of the organization between 1982 and 1992, who visited Panama on several occasions.
“Everything was inside the gates of Panama Aldeas and covered internationally,” he said. Barrios explained that, according to the testimonies collected in the lawsuits, there were victims as young as two years old.
He mentioned rape, labor exploitation, emotional violations of their rights, psychological abuse, and even abortions and forced prostitution.
“Nowadays we call this cases of lack of protection, I call things by their name,” he stressed.
The lawyer for the plaintiffs told the press that the defendant organization made a statement in a note sent on October 18 of this year and mentioned “possible historical failures.” The international organization, assured Samudio, is willing to offer a program of help and psychological therapy to the 35 victims who have filed a lawsuit.
On the other hand, he reproaches that the organization only talks about psychological support and not about a reparation that serves the victims to compensate “all that past that has affected his productive life.”
The case of the alleged abuse of children and adolescents in Panama became publicly relevant in 2021 when a Panamanian woman in Austria denounced what she had suffered during her childhood.
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