MEXICO CITY — Church leaders from across Mexico convened in late October for the Fourth National Meeting of Diocesan and Religious Commission Leaders for Vulnerable Children, Adolescents and Adults, organised by the National Council for the Protection of Minors (CNPM) of the Mexican Episcopal Conference. 

Held from 27 to 30 October, the gathering brought together representatives from dioceses and religious congregations nationwide to strengthen the identity, mission and responsibilities of safeguarding commissions, share best practices and reinforce an ecclesial culture focused on prevention and the accompaniment of victims. 

Sessions covered prevention, effective and compassionate handling of compl, aints, accompaniment and reparation of harm, communication management and self-care for safeguarding teams. 

Among the presenters was Dr. Patricia Espinosa, Commission member and Coordinator for the Americas Region. She spoke on “Receiving the complaint: What does reporting mean for the victim?” 

Dr Espinosa opened by stressing the gravity of a survivor’s decision to come forward. 

“Reporting sexual abuse is not a decision made on the spur of the moment. Those who report have had to overcome a series of internal conflicts and external obstacles as a result of the imposition of silence by the aggressor, even for decades.” – Dr. Patricia Espinoza 

Survivors, she noted, rely on the response of the first person who receives their report. 

“Those who report expect and need the person who receives that first report to believe them, to help them achieve justice, to provide reparation, and to ensure that what happened to them does not happen again, either to them or to anyone else,” she said. “The attitude of the listener then becomes fundamentally important in avoiding any kind of retraumatisation.” 

She closed by highlighting the responsibility carried in those initial moments of contact. 

“The first contact we have with victims or survivors can contribute to their process of justice, reparation and healing if we manage to establish dignified relationships that do not reproduce any type of abusive dynamic and are not contaminated by messianic or heroic attitudes,” she said. 

The CNPM said the meeting forms part of its ongoing national effort to strengthen safeguarding structures and promote consistent, transparent and compassionate responses across dioceses and religious congregations.