Badboy raised the above question in another thread. I was wondering how much JW training and/or fear of God played a role in JW childrens' victimization. These are my comments:
Quote from an enprisoned Child Rapist: "Show me an obedient child, I will show you an easy victim."
Obedience, particularly unquestioning obedience, is deeply ingrained in the JW psyche. Parents are expected to beat this into their children from a very, very young age. JW children are taught to ignor what their own bodies and minds are telling them about their world. (A young child being forced to sit in a stiffled manner for several hours a week is a good example of training her to ignor body signals about what seems natural and comfortable. A little older child who is shamed or made fearful when he questions practices and doctrines, learns not to question adults that have some roll of authority over him, especially within the congregation.)
My parents were not JW (they were "interested persons.") My mother was very heavy handed and questioning was out of the question. My step-father preyed upon that fear to keep our silence: "If your mother finds out, we will BOTH be in trouble" [This was true, BTW;] "If you tell, I will go to jail. Then there won't be enough money to pay the rent, and all your brothers and sister will be out in the street. (Since it was winter and we lived in Alaska, this was a life or death kind of threat.)
I can see this same techneque being used on a JW child: "If anyone finds out, we'll both be disfellowshipped. If we are disfellowshipped and Armeggedon comes, we will die forever." It won't matter if the child has been baptized or not. He or she has been hearing about disfellowshipping long before s/he is old enough to be baptized.
Did your JW training make you or someone you know an easier victim?