Why should they report?

by Country Girl 7 Replies latest jw friends

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  Country Girl

  I know this is gonna earn me a bad rep.. but I think it needs to be brought up. I am just playing the Devils Advocate here. Why should there be a remedy of punitive damages for JW's that bring up the spectre of child abuse when the law doesn't REQUIRE that ministers go to the law to report? How can lawsuits be brought up in those jurisdictions where the law doesn't REQUIRE that? They can't be found LEGALLY guilty... I think *all* of us need to write to our congressman/senators to pass a law that it is REQUIRED that all suspicions of chiuld abuse be brought up in front of LEGALLY by ministers/clergy.. any person that is acting in the capacitiy of a counseling person. When there is NO LAW supportng this.. it needs to be made.

  Country Girl
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  pettygrudger

  Its not an issue perse of whether the elders should report the abuse. The issue is that they DISCOURAGE the victim from reporting to the authorities, they discourage the victim from appropriate therapies, they don't condemn the person who commited this atrocious crime, usually ignoring the situation because of the 2-eyewitness rule. Therefore, they allow this to happen & should therefore be judged themselves. (kinda like aiding & abetting if you ask me).
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  Elsewhere

  I don't care WHO a person is or WHAT position they hold.... EVERYONE should report!

  These people are sooooo arrogant as to think that they DON'T HAVE to report. What's more... why would an organization fight sooo hard for the right NOT to report child molestation??? That just blows me away!
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  DJ

  Hi CC,

  I agree with you and I have no idea why reporting is not mandatory in all states. It should be. I guess w/o the laws in place to report, the jw's figure that common sense to report a child molester isn't enough. dj
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  Realist

  question...is it mandatory in NY? if so wouldn't the headquaters be required to send all the files to the police?
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  Elsewhere

  The courts can only demand documents for cases in their jurisdiction... so if a file is for molestation in , the NY court cannot touch it.
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  BadJerry

  Yes, that they don't report is the issue. And the issue of not reporting has nothing to do with respect for the law or respect for their God, but its respect for their poctebook. In my final discussion with an elder (taped of course), he stated that if he lived in a state where the clergy weren't required to report he wouldn't. He said the reason was that he and the WT could and probably would be sued. That's plain wrong! Man this subject gets my blood boiling every time I hear or read about it.
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  stichione

  Country Girl,

  Its a question of principle. The Jehovah's Witnesses are supposed to be morally superior to the rest of the world since they adhere so closely to God's Word the Bible, right? So if thats the case, then the "moral" thing to do is to report sexual predators such as child molestors. To use typical Dub thinking: If Jesus Christ was on earth right now, what would he do if he found out a child molestor? Wouldn't he report that person to the authorities?