Psalm 34:4
Jehovah's Witnesses Child Sexual Abuse Cover up
One of the major issues that has come out tremendously over the last few years in regards to Jehovah's Witnesses, is the issues of Child Sexual Abuse cover up. I was quite shocked when I heard about this and started digging into the matter. It is appalling that anyone would cover up any crime, but to cover up child abuse is another thing. Especially when using the bible to support it. This cover up stems from their policies and procedures which they state are biblical and cannot be changed. The main part of this that protects pedophiles is referred to as the "Two-Witness Rule." What is the Two-Witness Rule? First of all, I will say that this isn’t exactly labeled “The Two-Witness Rule” in the JW Elder’s handbook, but it’s what it’s referred to, to make things easier. The “Two-Witness rule” used by Jehovah’s Witness leadership (Governing Body, Overseers, and Elders) per their “Shepherd the Flock of God” Secret Elder’s Handbook, is simply this (this is a paraphrase and not exact wording because to list all the policies and procedures would be a lot): There must be Two-Witnesses, or a confession from the accused to any accusation committed by someone in the organization, in order for “judicial action” to be taken (Judicial Action means a Jehovah Witness internal judiciary committee made up of 3 elders). If there are not two witnesses to the incident, and there is no confession from the accused, they may arrange a meeting between the accuser and the accused. Further more, it is then left “in Jehovah’s hands”. There is no reporting to the authorities mentioned anywhere in the Elder’s handbook by anyone in the organization. They only report immediately to the Watchtower Branch office. Thus matters are only ever handled internally, if at all. Even if there is a confession or two witnesses, it is never reported to proper authorities, by anyone in the organization other than parents, IF they are not encouraged to refrain from reporting for fear of bringing “reproach on Jehovah’s name” or on grounds of “not suing another brother”. But there is a problem when the accused/perpetrator is a parent. Then of course, the parent is probably not going to report on themselves or their spouse. Especially a wife reporting on a husband, since men are treated MUCH different than women within the organization. Women are usually always pressured to obey and submit to their husbands, and the authority of the congregation elders, and would be, or have been influenced in not reporting on their husbands. The Governing Body (7 men/leaders of the organization at their headquarters in New York) of Jehovah’s Witnesses state this Two-Witness rule is biblical and stems from the following scriptures: Deut. 19:15 and Matthew 18:15-17 Please watch the following video made by a wonderful Christian, former JW, woman that shows just how unbiblical this “Two-Witness Rule” is and how these verses are incorrectly applied and taken out of context by the Jehovah’s Witnesses. https://youtu.be/R06Fy1crSZI One of the first and biggest lawsuits involving a Jehovah's Witness child being abused by another Witness was the Candace Conti case that you can read about here: http://jwsurvey.org/cedars-blog/the-girl-who-took-on-the-watchtower-candace-conti-speaks-out http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/18/us/28-million-awarded-in-jehovahs-witnesses-abuse-case.html The next big discovery of this issue was within the last 2 years in Australia. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse investigated institutions and religions in the country to see how they handle and respond to allegations of child sexual abuse. The Jehovah's Witnesses were found to very poorly address this issue. That's actually an understatement because the reality is, they were found to have protected over 1,000 pedophiles in Australia alone, since the 1950s. They never reported any of these cases to the authorities even in the cases where the abuser confessed. You can watch the hearings on Youtube, just search for: "Jehovahs Witnesses Australia Royal Commission." Please also see the Royal Commission website here. I also suggest reading further into this at JWSurvey.org here The next highlight is in California where the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society/Jehovah's Witnesses are being fined $4,000/day by the courts for refusing to turn over Child Abuse report documents they have. Now if this truly was God's organization, why aren't they cooperating with the courts? Why aren't they turning over this information in order to protect their members, namely children and the other victims of sexual abuse? You want to know why?? They don't want to "bring reproach on Jehovah's name" which means they want to cover their own butts for failing to protect people! Especially when they claim to abhor child abuse and advocate for justice. Read more about this issue here: https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Jehovahs-Witnesses-Face-LegalFinancial-Penalties-in-Court-Case-456790543.html http://jwsurvey.org/child-abuse-2/news-bulletin-california-appellate-court-slams-watchtower-jehovahs-witnesses-fined-ordered-produce-child-abuse-docs I understand that this is an issue not only in the JW religion. It is also in many other religious institutions. However, I am a former JW and my main focus is to help those of that cult wake up. I am not trying to attack or bash on people, or only a specific group. I am simply raising awareness of facts that are hidden from their own members. The organization should be open and honest with it's members, especially if they have nothing to hide and especially since donations from it's members go to cover court fees and payout. Just as any business, or other organization, they should be honest with where all their money is going. But they do not. They share about all the other things the money goes to, and other court cases that are in favor of their beliefs, but when it comes to anything negative, they hide. Hiding things is the same as lying. One could say that they don't want to worry the people, well then they should be able to explain the situation and also reassure the people at the same time, that they have nothing to worry about but the fact is that they do need to worry because this isn't a biblical standard. This is about saving face.
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