The victimization – including sexual abuse – of institutionalized children has never been systematically studied or diagnosed in Poland. The research findings presented in this report have helped us define the incidence of the traumatic experiences of children residing in Polish institutions and the scope of assistance available to them in such difficult situations. The main objectives of this research included (1) investigating forms of sexual abuse (and other victimizations) experienced by institutionalized children; and (2) exploring the children’s attitudes related to the assessed victimization experiences. Other important goals were (3) to evaluate the institutional staff’s knowledge about victimization experiences among the children under their care and (4) to assess the staff’s competence in diagnosing symptoms of sexual abuse and undertaking adequate intervention in such cases.

The research was conducted within the program „Bring the Childhood Back” Przyjaciółka Foundation, Oriflame for Children Foundation and World Childhood Foundation