Victoria, Australia: Steven Unthank's Press Release: JW's Hierarchy Formally Charged Today With Child Abuse

by AndersonsInfo 243 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

  • defender of truth
    defender of truth

    For the benefit of WHATSGOINGON and anyone else who wants to know what happened and what Mr Unthank did afterwards...

    (Forgive me for all the blue links, the links would be so long otherwise that the text doesn't all display. They all go to the right places ;))

    Here is what happened to this case you were asking about:

    "The four children launched their prosecution with a magistrate's permission on July 26, 2011. In October 2011 the church's Governing Body wrote to all Victorian congregations, telling them to get the checks.

    At the final court hearing, on February 21, 2012, the Director of Public Prosecutions discontinued the case, saying it was not in the public interest."

    "The child, 11, who is due to give evidence on Monday at the state inquiry into how the churches handled child sex abuse, wanted to force the church to comply with working with children laws. After four hearings, to which church leaders did not send a representative, the church began complying and the Office of Public Prosecutions intervened to discontinue the case.

    (Talking now about the Victoria Inquiry into child abuse)

    The inquiry will also hear from anti-Jehovah's Witness campaigner Steven Unthank, a former member of the church who says he and his family were ostracised and persecuted after he tried to tackle child abuse.

    His submission alleges the church and its incorporated body, the Watchtower Society, covered up criminal child abuse, including rape, sexual assault, death threats, blackmail and assault, across four states by ordained ministers and officers of the church.''.

    http://m.theage.com.au/victoria/child-in-jehovahs-witness-court-bid-20130217-2elcg.html

    The Victorian Inquiry then basically led up to the ARC:

    "In Victoria, in January 2011 the Protecting Victoria's Vulnerable Children Inquiry was launched to investigate Victoria's child protection system and make recommendations to strengthen and improve the protection and support of vulnerable young people...

    A bi-partisan parliamentary inquiry was established in May 2012 in that state to seek information about the causes and effects of criminal abuse within religious and other non-government organisations;...

    By June 2012, there was community and academic pressure for the establishment of a Royal Commission, most especially in Victoria... (Read the rest of the 'Background' section if you want to, I'm trying to make this quick to read)


    Australian Royal Commission wiki page

    ----------

    This was his submission to the Victorian Inquiry:


    Steven Unthank submission to Victoria Inquiry

    He also started Jwsurvivors:

    "JW Survivors is a volunteer not-for-profit community based victim advocacy group for survivors of the Church of Jehovah’s Witnesses within Australia. The group was founded by Steven Unthank. The seeds of JW Survivors were planted by current and former members of the Church of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and their families, in response to the Victorian Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and other Organisations, and an extensive submission made in relation to the Church of Jehovah’s Witnesses and their administrative controlling corporation, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Australia."

    www.atheistgeeknews.com/tag/candace-conti

    November 26, 2012
    JW Survivors lodged today a submission, written and prepared by Steven Unthank, in reply to the Australian government’s request for stakeholder consultation for the establishing of the “Terms of Reference” for the Child Abuse Royal Commission.

    Among the 9 recommendations made to the Royal Commission by JW Survivors was that “the Royal Commission investigate religious and other organisations in relation to their response to working with children laws as legislated in various jurisdictions across Australia.” The submission explained that “working with children laws and child safety legislation are the frontline of physical and sexual protection for children within the community”, and that “a failure, or refusal to comply with working with children laws, by an organisation, religious or otherwise, may be an indicator of the systemic failure of such an organisation to view the physical and sexual safety of children, with whom they work with, as a priority.” The submission also cited the Church of Jehovah’s Witnesses as an example of one religious organisation engaging in the “wholesale” criminal breaching of working with children laws.

    On 12 November 2012, Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced that she will be recommending to the Governor-General the establishment of a Royal Commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse in Australia. Following this, the government requested the input of stakeholder organisations in making recommendations for the ‘Terms of Reference’ for the Child Abuse Royal Commission. JW Survivors was one of those organisations who made a submission.
    Click on the below link to download a copy of JW Survivors 11 page Submission:


    JW Survivors submission to the ARC

    https://jwsurvivors.wordpress.com/
  • defender of truth
    defender of truth
    (Talking now about the Victoria Inquiry into child abuse)

    Sorry, when I said that, I should have explained I was referring to the bi-partisan parliamentary inquiry that was established in May 2012 in that state to seek information about the causes and effects of criminal abuse within religious and other non-government organisations;

    There were two different inquiries.

    But seeing as the date of the news article was 2013, you may have worked that out anyway. ;)

  • WHATSGOINGON
    WHATSGOINGON

    Hi Defender of Truth.

    Thats awesome thanks for the info will look at it tonight.

    Thanks so much.

    WGO

  • Vidiot
    Vidiot

    Somewhere, deep in the Outback, Steve is quietly celebrating with a case of Scotch and his closest friends.

    x

    And IMO, he's f**king earned it.

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