Child Abuse: Child Sexual Abuse Information Packet [Opposers Dismythed]
The organization posted their internal memo online today. It is linked below.
Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Scripturally Based Position on Child Protection
Membership review is strictly religious, not a matter for the state. (#10)
Parents/Guardians are solely accountable for their own child's safety, not the organization. (#6)
We do not isolate children from parents for any activity. (#7)
Elders must be kind to abuse victims. (#8, #9)
Elders contact the branch to ensure compliance with child abuse reporting laws. (#5)
Elders are never to punish reporting and inform parents and victims of their right to report. (#4)
Reporting to the legal authorities may even be encouraged for specific reasons. (#5)
Mental health consultation is never discouraged. (#8)
Elders do not protect known perpetrators of child sexual abuse, (#3)
Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Scripturally Based Position on Child Protection
Highlights
State authority punishes crimes, not us. (#3, #10)Membership review is strictly religious, not a matter for the state. (#10)
Parents/Guardians are solely accountable for their own child's safety, not the organization. (#6)
We do not isolate children from parents for any activity. (#7)
Elders must be kind to abuse victims. (#8, #9)
Elders contact the branch to ensure compliance with child abuse reporting laws. (#5)
Elders are never to punish reporting and inform parents and victims of their right to report. (#4)
Reporting to the legal authorities may even be encouraged for specific reasons. (#5)
Mental health consultation is never discouraged. (#8)
Elders do not protect known perpetrators of child sexual abuse, (#3)
Comments
# 3 - Child abuse is a CRIME. Enough said there.
# 5 - Even if elders have no legal duty to report, elders are instructed to report if a minor is in danger of abuse. This is a really good point. This proves that elders are not instructed to simply call the branch and leave it at that if they are not mandated reporters. So in other words, elders are to go beyond their legal obligation when the situation calls for it. Elders would thus need to care about the child and his or her personal welfare. We are a family. We are not in business relationships with each other.
# 2 - Jehovah's Witnesses have been educating people on how to protect children for decades. We took an interest in child protection when the world in general either ignored the problem, or didn't understand the extent of it.
# 6 - Parents are responsible for their children. I mean, who else should be? When a minor is arrested for shop-lifting, who are contacted? The elders or the parents? The law holds parents responsible. So does Jehovah.
It cannot be stressed enough. Education starts at home. Child abuse prevention starts at home. If parents do their jobs as parents, abuse can be kept to a minimum.
# 10 - The investigation done by the elders is purely for membership eligibility purposes. This is proper. The Bible sets the standard for determining who become members. Why should it NOT determine whether or not membership is revoked?
At any time during the elder's investigation, the victim can call police and have them investigate. One is not dependent on the other. One has nothing to do with the other.
# 13 - This document is available for request to members of the congregation, and it is a living document. Simply put, asking for it is never to be frowned upon, or denied.
References - Dates back to 1983, to demonstrate the extend of our education on PREVENTING, not REACTING to child sexual abuse. The best protection is that of prevention.
This document really buried a lot of lies spread about us.
Good job!
The goal was to obviously make the document readable, understandable, and accessible. They've clearly done so.
I am also not saying that we has a complete understanding of the issue back then, but given the time period, it was what I think was a good understanding on how to prevent child sex abuse, not merely reacting to it.
While I do agree that we learned a great deal about child sex abuse and how to prevent it from non-Witness sources, it not reasonable to conclude that the media, which has historically attacked and lied on us, was used as a corrective tool.
Jehovah, scripturally, uses the secular authorities and entities to correct his people when they are DISOBEDIENT. Disfellowshipping and shunning unrepentant child abusers, ensuring an accusation is credible via the "two-witness rule", and making policy changes in line with new evidence is the furthest we get from "disobedience". There is no reason to believe, based on Bible precedent, that ANY investigative body or secular authority was used by Jehovah to "correct" his people to this point.
Child sexual abuse cannot be compared to sex between consenting adults in the least. Rape can be compared, and pornography and prostitution can be identified as contributing factors, but adult sexual relationships in general have no correllation to it by any stretch.
But my point earlier about sexual conduct between consenting adults was intended to point out the world's folly in thinking you can allow adults in society to engage in most any form of sexual immortality they wish with impunity. Fornication, adultery, homosexuality masturbation, nudist colonies, pornography, legalized prostitution, etc.
And realistically expect that you can limit it right there without all this spreading like cancer into greater and further forms of degenerate behavior. Child sexual abuse being among them ...
Allowing any form of filthy or unGodly behavior, sexual or otherwise, will ultimately lead to more and even worse forms over time.
As Amos 3:7 says: "Jehovah WILL NOT DO A THING unless he reveals his confidential matters to His servants, the prophets".
As far as we've seen, not even step one has been done. So we are supposed to believe, without a shred of evidence, that God skipped all those steps?
"Such is absolutely not based [on] them being of a better moral or ethical character. As the world is grossly hypocritical in this area for instance where on one hand the world rightfully stress the importance of protecting children against such abuses. Yet they legalize and even encourage many sexually immoral practices between adults as long as they're allegedly "consensual," but which actually contribute to further degenerate forms of behavior in this society such as child sexual abuses among their byproducts. And related to this, it's strange when I speak to some opposers, they actually seem to think God only cares about children and their safety and welfare, and not adults and their behavior that takes place among them."
Poisoon is poison whether it comes from "members" inside the organization or opposers outside the organization.
I am not sure about when that particular direction was first instituted. I would have to research it. The specific direction not to have victims confront their abusers is fairly recent, from sometime within the last 6 years. While from the 2003 update it was indicated that the elders may choose to forego having the victim confront their accuser in circumstances they feel appropriate, this led to an inconsistent practice in regard to abuse victims. Thus the update was made later, making it mandatory to forego it in the case of abuse victims.
But the rest of the information was last updated in 2003. Since then, only minor corrections in wording have occurred, but the intent of the wording has remained unchanged since 2003. That is why the cases you hear about the most occurred before the year 2000 when the previous update occurred.
We hope you find this useful. If you are seeking a more researched response, we recommend contacting the organization at the address in the Watchtower. We simply don't have the time for digging up publications on issues we are not currently reasearching for future posts. But you can do your own research in our publications at http://wol.jw.org . That information does not include shepherding manuals or internal memos.
Also, most alleged victims tend to make their claims years after the alleged abuse, making it difficult, if not impossible, to prove that the abuse took place.
We have never instructed anyone not to report in our publications, nor do we discourage it, and we even made that clear in our publications. Just because some had a wrong view of what it means to dishonor Jehovah does not mean we taught them that erroneous view.
But thankfully, we are not under the Mosaic law. So we do not hold it against victims for not crying out. But we should not be held accountable for doing nothing if the victim did not cry out during the assault or immediately after. That is their failing and the failing of their parents. Not ours.
If the victim does not cry out, neither should they expect justice. The organization does what it canv but we are not psychics.
Requiring only one witness is unjust because then anyone could make a lying accusation, hurting innocent people. Human justice is not pergect, but we are not going to give people the ammunition they need to make false claims on a whim.
Yeah, requiring only one Witness is unjust. SO many innocent people have been thrown in jail, or suffered the irreversible death penalty due to lack of sufficient proof (second witness), just for the authorities to later find out the accused was innocent.
* Jehovah’s Witnesses and Sexual Abuse: 3. Some Common Misunderstandings https://bitterwinter.org/jehovahs-witnesses-and-sexual-abuse-3-some-common-misunderstandings/
* Jehovah’s Witnesses Win Important Case in Belgium https://bitterwinter.org/jehovahs-witnesses-win-important-case-in-belgium/
*Jehovah’s Witnesses and Sexual Abuse: 4. Answering Some Criticism https://bitterwinter.org/jehovahs-witnesses-and-sexual-abuse-4-answering-some-criticism/
* The England-Wales Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse: Jehovah’s Witnesses and the So-called Two-Witness Rule https://bitterwinter.org/the-england-wales-independent-inquiry-into-child-sexual-abuse-jehovahs-witnesses-and-the-so-called-two-witness-rule/
* Jehovah’s Witnesses and Sexual Abuse: The Court of Brussels Finds the CIAOSN Report Ill-Founded
https://bitterwinter.org/jehovahs-witnesses-and-sexual-abuse/
* http://afanasyevjw.blogspot.com/2018/03/jehovahs-witnesses-accused-of-silencing.html?m=1 (This article will translate into English in your browser)
* https://bitterwinter.org/england-wales-assault-against-secrecy-confession/
* https://bitterwinter.org/jehovahs-witnesses-sexual-abuse-allegations-groundless/1