WHO ARE WE
At the Vicki Bernadet Foundation, we have been working since 1997 on comprehensive care, prevention and awareness of sexual abuse of minors committed in the family and in the child's trusted environment.
- Why does the foundation exist?
1 in 5 boys and girls suffer childhood sexual abuse before the age of 17.
60% will never receive any kind of help.
90% will not say anything until adulthood.
Studies carried out in Spain (Dr. Fèlix López, 1994. Ministry of Social Affairs) and in other countries of the European Union, the United States and Canada, estimate that 23-25% of girls and 10-15% of boys they suffer sexual abuse before the age of 17. 60% will not receive any type of aid.
Child sexual abuse is, therefore, a public health problem that requires specialized attention and, above all, awareness on the part of society as a whole.
- Work for the prevention of sexual abuse of minors, for all kinds of help and the defense of the interests of people affected by this problem and their families.
- Promote equal opportunities between men and women.
- Promote the improvement of people's quality of life, especially help of all kinds and the defense of the interests of those groups at risk or in a situation of social exclusion, such as women who are victims of sexual assaults or any other form of gender violence, young people and women who require support for their socio-labor integration.
- The promotion of people with physical, mental and/or sensory disabilities to facilitate their social integration.
- Commitment to people because we believe in the continuity of our actions to transform and improve society.
- Optimism because it is our way of understanding life, with an attitude of improvement and of always looking ahead.
- Resilience as the ability to overcome situations that have hurt us but do not define who we are.
- Welcome with open arms to every person who needs our help.
- Innovation because only with creativity and imagination can we find new ways to change things.
- Who is Vicki Bernadet?
Vicki was a victim of sexual abuse from the ages of 9 to 17 and did not disclose it until she was 34. The moment of disclosure, as in most cases, involved facing two realities: the reaction of the family environment and the lack of specialized resources to go to for help.
Her fighting spirit, non-conformism and determination led her in 1997 to create the institution that now bears her name so that other victims would not have to experience the same rejection, incomprehension and loneliness.
In 1997, the organization was created with the aim of offering comprehensive and specialized care to all those affected directly or indirectly by sexual abuse in childhood, becoming a leading Foundation in this field, which has one based in Barcelona and another in the Autonomous Community of Aragon.
Aware that it is not possible to work exclusively in a palliative way on the consequences of child sexual abuse, one of the central axes of the work of Vicki and her organization is prevention and awareness so that it can be talked about without secrecy or taboos.
Through an effective strategy of communication and social awareness, it is being achieved that sexual abuse of minors is discussed in the media, that it is discussed in schools and that it is addressed from institutions related to childhood.
With this line of action, Vicki pursues a double objective: that society recognizes its existence and uses the necessary means to prevent it, identify it in time and treat it appropriately, and that the "circle of silence" so that the victims stop feeling ashamed and guilty and find the strength to ask for help.
In 2006 she was named social entrepreneur of the ASHOKA international network (International Network of Social Entrepreneurship).
- PATRONAGE
