FROM THE SEXUAL ABUSE SURVIVORS LOG:
http://www.exjws.net/sexabuse/abuseguestlog.htm
Date:
Wednesday, March 07, 2001
Time:
11:06 PM
Comments
Hello.
I was raped by my father my entire life, until the age of approximately 18. He was not a jw, but an athiest. My mother was Irish Catholic. At the age of 18, I started studying with Jehovah's Witnesses.
After 3 yrs. of studying, I was baptised, having then a daughter about a year old. I had no idea that when I took her over to my mother's to babysit, my dad and younger brother were seriously sexual abusing her. Because of my father, I had an extreme problem with memory. I just didn't know.
One reason I joined Jehovah's Witnesses is to find security, peace and hope. I thought I had found it - Spiritual Paradise and all. Jump forward some years, I was studying with my brother who was about 13, my father had died and I felt sorry for him. Unknown to me, my little brother sodomized my little girl from her ages of 6 - 9. He was a teenager at the time. He has confirmed this to me and his own wife.
I never let my daughter go to anyone's house without first trying to know the parents. Thus, put to rest the idea that *you* take care of your child and *I* didn't. I did. I just didn't know - as thousands of parents say the same thing.
A Ministerial Servant with 5 children was in our cong. and his daughter made friends with my daughter. I visited over their home on several different occasions - their daughter was over our house a lot. The Ministerial Servant sexually abused my daughter around the age of 12. Later, when this came to light, his own daughter had already written a letter to her congregation about the years of incest by her father.
All this was brought to the attention of the elders in the congregation we were attending. They refused to do anything about it since the paedophile was in another congregation, another state. They would not even deem to call those elderss and say "Hey, you might have a problem in your congregation." They said it was not their concern. I remember - I argued this point.
I called the other congregation, spoke with the Presiding Overseer. He told me about the daughter's letter accusing her father of incest. I told him about my daughter. He acted as if he believed me and said this man would be brought in for questioning. Two witnesses. He said they called the Watchtower Society on how to handle the matter.
The wife of the Ministerial Servant in the meanwhile, told the elders that if they said the word "incest" on her property, she would sue for slander. The elders backed down, the Ministerial Servant was never spoken to about the incest/molestation of my daughter and his own daughter. The PO told me this - they couldn't take the chance of being sued.
Many repercussions since that time. Enough for now. I have been a devout Jehovah's Witness for 30 years. I have now stopped going to meetings - but I don't smoke, have 2 glasses of wine a week, don't celebrate the holidays, love my husband, and have committed no wrong except for the human frailties. In other words, I'm no more perfect than the next person.
I am writing about these things more in response to the commenters who defend the Watchtower Society at all costs. So did I - and I and they hurt my daughter in return for my loyalty.
Not a fair exchange. She's worth more than the concept of keeping the congregation's reputation clean. Any child is worth more than that.
I was "suggested" to keep silent for the good of the congregation several different times by Circuit Overseers. I did - at great expense to myself. I finally got tired and still carried my anger as my constant companion after 10 years.
Our children are more important than pawns, grasshoppers, insignificant in the war between Jehovah and Satan. Our children are our loves of life - the next human beings on our earth. We should care for them more than mere grasshoppers.