Religious movement’s sexual abuse response under a spotlight
It takes two.
And therein lies the rub for an allegedly large number of sexual abuse victims who are members of the Jehovah’s Witness church. They say — and, in cases where the abuse victims are children, the advocates speaking on their behalf say — that they are stymied in their attempts to properly identify, punish and deter pedophiles and molesters who can effectively hide beneath church law while they commit illegal acts.
Reportedly, and as noted in a recent media article spotlighting a prevalent child sexual abuse problem in the Jehovah’s Witness church, any abuse allegation “must be corroborated by a second witness for a case to even be heard by an internal judicial committee.”
That requirement comes from church members’ strict interpretation of select Bible verses, such as the requirement from the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy that, “There must be two or three eyewitnesses, not just people repeating hearsay.”
Such an onus placed upon any victim who is isolated and abused in private by a perpetrator can obviously lead to predictable and tragic results.
Radio-Canada reporters conducted a probe into the high hurdle placed in front of church sex-abuse victims across the world and released a number of troubling findings. Principals of a program focusing on the matter say that the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, which operates as the headquarters for the church, have declined to answer questions.
One question is this: Why wasn’t a single allegation of more than one thousand accusations leveled internally against offenders in the church in Australia reported by church officials to outside criminal authorities?
And then there’s this: Why hasn’t the church responded to the recent order issued by a California court to release all relevant database-housed details regarding alleged wrongdoers?
Given the pressures being put upon the church, its officials might ultimately have to reexamine church doctrine mandating that members avoid “entanglement with secular authorities.”
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