SOS Children's Villages Announces "Comprehensive Restart"

The flood of allegations does not stop: Now there is also suspicion of inappropriate treatment against the SOS Children's Villages founder.

After the horrendous allegations against SOS Children's Villages facilities — and now also against its founder Hermann Gmeiner — the organization is completely restructuring itself. SOS Children's Villages also wants to rigorously clear out its outdated "perfect world image."

On Thursday morning, the institution was dealt another blow: founder Hermann Gmeiner is suspected of having committed inappropriate and transgressive acts against at least eight boys. SOS Children's Villages confirmed eight internally documented and recognized affected person protection cases connected to the founder. The allegations relate to four locations in Austria over a period from the 1950s to the 1980s. The affected persons had come forward as part of the affected person protection procedure at SOS Children's Villages, which in turn reviewed their accounts. Managing director Annemarie Schlack emphasized that these are not court judgments or forensic examinations, but the statements were so credible that the affected persons were paid up to 25,000 euros and therapy hours were covered.

"Comprehensive Restart" In general, there is now to be a complete reorientation of the organization. There should be "not a small update, but a comprehensive restart of the organization," Schlack emphasized in an APA interview. SOS Children's Villages also wants to rigorously clear out its outdated "perfect world image."

Since 2010, there have been hardly any "Children's Village families"; most of the 1,800 children and young people are cared for by staff in residential groups of eight to nine people. "But we must acknowledge that the system of the past has also left traces in the present. We are now separating ourselves from this past," said Schlack.

Structures of the organization in which transgressions can be committed or covered up are to be completely realigned as a whole. "Already in 2026, SOS Children's Villages will look different than it does today," Schlack emphasized.

SOS Children's Villages is therefore launching a "comprehensive, externally supported organizational development process." A special focus lies on the active participation of employees, whose experiences and ideas are to form the basis for the change.

For the internal examination of the organization, a team will be set up under the leadership of a special commissioner for coming to terms with the past. "The task is the complete processing of all received and not fully investigated historical cases, including active archive research and documentation review," said the managing director.

67 Reports Currently Under Investigation There is currently no new suspected case of inappropriate treatment at SOS Children's Villages. However, there are currently 67 reports that have been brought to the organization via various contact points. Since the spectrum of these submissions is very broad, a new case does not necessarily have to result from them, it was said. The managing director, however, called on any affected persons to contact SOS Children's Villages — also in the Gmeiner case.