The authors of the report estimate that at least 3,500 people have committed sexual abuse and say that the figures are only "the tip of the tip of the iceberg".
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00:00 More than 2,200 people have been victims of sexual abuse by church staff in Germany.
00:07 An independent report into sexual abuse in the Protestant Church in Germany says there
00:11 have been thousands of victims over the past decades and that the known cases may be just
00:16 the tip of the iceberg.
00:18 The study commissioned by the church reveals more than 1,200 offenses were committed by
00:23 church staff.
00:24 "We have also made countless people guilty as an institution.
00:31 And I can only ask you wholeheartedly for forgiveness for the way you were hurt."
00:40 Victims who have been campaigning for years for the truth to emerge have called on others
00:44 to come forward.
00:45 "The Protestant Church has a problem with sexualized violence.
00:51 There are high numbers here and it has a problem with how it deals with the victims when they
00:57 report."
00:58 Researchers who have been investigating the scandal since 2020 say there's evidence that
01:04 the real number of victims could come close to 10,000.
01:08 The revelations come several years after a probe into Germany's Catholic Church unveiled
01:13 similarly shocking numbers of sex abuse cases by clergy.
01:17 (whooshing)