The law makers of each jurisdiction, which reflect the most obvious existence of harm in human action itself. By insisting that someone who has broken a law, to confess to the authorities as well, is saying to all, that the Church accepts the laws of the land and the reasons they exist. Now, I can almost hear you thinking, what if laws go against Christian/Scriptural doctrine. Yes, that is a far more complicated, an issue which would need to be considered for each situation/law. However, in the case of this issue, the point I'm making (as is Kieran) is that one can accept the Law without giving up the seal of confession Tradition, AND avoid having to go to jail as a conscientious objector AND but mostly be saying to abuse victims that they are the first priority in all this. It's a win-win-win situation. However, it would take changes in Canon Law (not Scripture, but perhaps scriptural interpretation), and correspondingly, in Catholic culture, particularly at the top end.