SOS Children's Villages Liechtenstein condemns child abuse in the strongest possible terms

SOS Children's Villages International reacted quickly and temporarily suspended the Austrian member organization. SOS Children's Villages Austria has set up an independent reform commission headed by Irmgard Griss. This commission is tasked with transparently investigating all allegations and introducing structural reforms. We have full confidence in this work and will follow the results closely.

The role of SOS Children's Villages Liechtenstein

It is important for us to emphasize that the events in Austria are in no way connected to the work of SOS Children's Villages Liechtenstein. Since our foundation in 2019, we have been completely independent legally, financially and operationally. We do not operate our own care facilities in Liechtenstein. Our four national programmes in the areas of family strengthening, health and education are implemented in cooperation with qualified partner organizations. Direct contact with children and their families takes place exclusively through these partners. We also support around 39 international SOS programs with financial resources.

Despite this independence, we share the deep shock of the historical events. We strongly condemn all forms of violence, abuse and cover-ups. Our sympathy goes out to all those affected, whose suffering must be recognized and dealt with.

As part of the global SOS Children's Villages community, we bear responsibility far beyond our own country: every year, over 65,000 children are directly cared for and around 7.7 million people benefit from global aid programs at a time when poverty, conflict and the loss of international aid are pushing many families to the brink of existence.

This is precisely why we must not stop now. SOS Children's Villages International has clear child protection guidelines, ombudspersons and whistleblowing systems that are continuously reviewed and developed. These structures ensure that children's rights and protection mechanisms meet very high international standards and provide clear guidelines for the approximately 40,000 employees worldwide.

For SOS Children's Villages Liechtenstein, the protection, dignity and rights of every single child are at the heart of our work and are inviolable - today and in the future.

SOS Children's Villages Austria takes a stand on the investigation of the historical cases on its own website.