sex-abuse-survivorIn 2015, Watchtower was brought before the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, and was found so badly wanting that Justice McClellan, who was presiding over the case study, declared that the Commission had not encountered any organisation in Australia that had the flaws of the Jehovah’s Witnesses when it came to dealing with child abuse.

The findings of the Commission were utterly damning, and included the fact that since the 1950’s over 1000 alleged pedophiles in Watchtower’s Australian congregations (some with multiple accusations) had not been reported to the police.

This should concern the whole world, as the flawed policies led by Watchtower in Australia are the some policies used by Watchtower globally as countless newspaper reports and legal trials have confirmed.

The United Kingdom is currently running its own official investigation into child sexual abuse, and Watchtower has already run afoul of it in rather spectacular fashion, managing to make headline news in the BBC’s flagship radio programme “Sunday” earlier this year. 

The Inquiry is requesting that anyone in the UK who has experience of sexual abuse contact them and share their story.

On the website, the Inquiry state

We want to hear from:

  • anyone who was sexually abused as a child in an institutional setting like a care home, a school or a religious, community or state organisation, or who first came into contact with their abuser in an institutional setting
  • anyone who was sexually abused as a child, and reported their sexual abuse to a person in authority, like a police officer or teacher, where the report was ignored or not properly acted on

For decades, Watchtower had been silencing the voices of abuse survivors in Australia, yet thanks to the Royal Commission, those survivors were at last able to speak.

Hopefully the same voice can be given to abuse survivors in the UK.

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13 thoughts on “News Bulletin: UK inquiry into child sexual abuse requesting submissions

  • October 1, 2016 at 2:46 pm
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    Good news indeed. Hopefully more governments will get on board and begin investigations. Continued exposure is a wonderful thing.

    Regards

  • October 1, 2016 at 4:05 pm
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    What may prevent any JW reporting abuse is the fact
    that the org, has convinced them that they are Gods
    only channel on earth.

    Therefore the org, owes them no redress, no explanation,
    they are irreproachable in their eyes, the abuse is attributed
    solely to the imperfection of the abuser. I know of one
    teenage girl who was molested by an elder and took this
    view and so kept quiet about the incident.

    The folly of this attitude and the policy of silence from
    the top down is that it creates an ambience in which these
    diabolical characters can continue to prey on more
    innocent victims.

    Watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy.
    For there is nothing carefully concealed that will not be
    revealed, and nothing secret that will not become known.”
    Luke 12:1-2. NWT.

  • October 1, 2016 at 5:09 pm
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    Great news! I wish all the Commonwealth Countries would do the same. The collective power of ALL of them would be a tremendous force that hopefully would open the eyes of many of the blinded ones inside the Org.

    • October 3, 2016 at 7:51 am
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      I agree. I wish Canada would get on board.

  • October 1, 2016 at 9:02 pm
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    There seems to be a number of cases around the world being revealed on child abuse and abuse of young adults by representatives of institutions (not just Watchtower) having oversight of events and activities for children and young adults. It includes athletic associations, education facilities and care facilities.

    Like many cornered cult leaderships, the Watchtower has become increasingly aggressive in lashing out at scapegoat groups–dissenters and more recently indoctrinating JW children to emotionally and mentally abuse LGBT and LGBT-supporters.

    Loyalty talks are akin to the Branch Davidians lighting gasoline fires and Jim Jones forcing cyanide suicides where adherents are given a “us vs them” rant and no options or a “backdoor”.

  • October 2, 2016 at 3:37 am
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    The idea of an Organisation as a tool for God is problematic – and dangerous. This thesis means that no man, not even the Governing body, is ultimately responsible. Any shortcomings will be corrected by God / the Organisation at the proper time. As a member of the GB I can vote as the other members regarding serious issues, and be convinced that the body represents God – but when it comes to accountability, that is transferred to the Organisation. In this specific context it is impossible and unlogical to argue about flaws. The Organization is not a man, it is God´s Organisation.

    The perpetrator is the guilty one. God´s Organisation is accountable for the procedures. If any flaws should exist, these will be corrected at the proper time – by God – through his channel. Until then – don´t blame the Organisation. Because it is God´s Organisation. And who are you to criticize God?

    So, you are going around and around in a circle.

    It is easy to declare the Organisation as God´s Organisation and enjoin obedience to an anonymous Society. The decision makers are doing ererything to be hidden.

    • October 2, 2016 at 2:54 pm
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      I guess there’s a hope in God knows best in his creation that:
      God regretted making Saul, King and
      God regretted making man
      now a regret in making Witnesses with GB being a mouth piece?

      IMHO

      dogstar

  • October 2, 2016 at 8:14 am
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    @ Paul:

    “It is easy to declare the Organisation as God´s Organisation and enjoin obedience to an anonymous Society. The decision makers are doing everything to be hidden”.

    Quite true and it will continue unfortunately, until the rank and file decide to enlighten themselves. However, it is much easier to put your head in the sand (or in between your legs) and let others think for you. Which has been the case for me and others until we used our own critical thinking ability and left.

    Again, my heart goes out to the victims of these heinous crimes and I hope that they can receive justice from these hearings when they finally start. I certainly wish that after the elections here in the U.S. we can write our representatives and get the light of truth shown on these roaches. Then watch the Governing Body scatter like the vermin they are.

    Only then maybe, just maybe, the ‘sheeple’ will wake up to the fact that their precious Organization is truly a cult like, distopian, man-made farce and not the wonderful “God’s Organization” they have been led to believe.

    Already the Organization is financially insolvent and is being forced into mendicancy begging for contributions, a dilemma unheard of since their founding. They are a dry well spiritually and as more learn “the truth about the truth” are losing at least two adherents for every one they bring in. One can only hope that we are seeing the beginning of end of this aberration calling itself the God’s Organization .

  • October 2, 2016 at 9:13 am
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    Here’s a thought…during the ARC elders admitted to not alerting the authorities about all child abuse in the organization. (See portion of Elder Kevin Bowditch interview). An interesting question to ask such an elder might be—if you knew of someone outside the organization that molested a child inside the organization, would you report that? Or vice versa if you knew someone inside the organization molested a child outside of the organization, would you report that? An answer to those questions could be pretty telling. Their answer could seal the deal that they do indeed harbor child abusers.

    Regards

  • October 2, 2016 at 1:40 pm
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    All of this is great. But it’s very, very sad that many trapped inside this organization still have absolutely no idea about any of this stuff. This is one of the main things that might help to awaken them.

  • October 3, 2016 at 12:40 am
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    I hope soon or late the “dark continent” will open the eyes and join the world in exposing Watchtower abuse.

    Here in Rwanda have a lawsuits involving a former district overseer and two elders (one of them died in 2014 to be replaced later by his wife: a widow). The lawsuit is like:

    In some African cultures, it is considered obscene to mention such sex-related words as penis, semen, or menstruation. One Christian mother even forbade her daughter to use the word “sex,” though she said the daughter could use the word “fornication.” In contrast, God’s Word the Bible speaks with frankness about sex and the sexual organs. (See w98 2/15 p. 8)!

    Hypocrites, they took me to police in 2014 alleging that the use of the same “words as penis” found in their very publication in my language was “obscene”!

    WHO CAN HELP ME GET the copy of judgement for this cases: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/man-superman-dressing-gown-cleared-8048218

    I want to use the signed copy of judgement to support my argument during the forthcoming trial.

  • October 5, 2016 at 4:59 am
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    Sadly the British tribunal is at risk of collapsing before it even starts.

  • October 27, 2016 at 5:07 pm
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    I was sexually harassed by a member of the JWs in Florida USA. This went on for quite some time. He even lived across the street from my family. I could never get away from his staring eyes and wondering hands. I was also willed to a family that was close to my family only to find out years later the husband of their family tried to seduce me (I was 16) and he was found out that he wanted to commit sex acts on his adopted triplet daughters. He also had watched a lot of child porn that was found on his computer. It was known for me to be silent~ nothing was ever said to me. No comfort on either occasions. My parents are good hearted people~ just brain washed.

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