Jehovah's Witnesses "Handling Child Abuse Matters" flowchart

by jwleaks 21 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

• 

  Mephis

  The letter signed by W.M Lloyd to be associated with this is pretty dynamite. It queries a number of instructions from Brooklyn which would seem to have been intended to try and reduce the amount of co-operation elders would give to the police in Australian states with mandated reporting. (Letter is WAT.0004.001.0014 and dated 29th October 1997).

  To quote from it:

  "Secondly, we are not sure why only a simple statement [recording someone as a 'known' abuser] should be placed in the file. If the matter is to be reported, it is quite likely that the elders will later be called to testify when it is brought to court. If that happens, then would it not be better to have a complete record on file of the contents of the statement made to the authorities? Is there any reason that we have overlooked for not having a complete record of the statement given on file?"

  This isn't negligence, this is deliberate.
• 

  OrphanCrow

  And shame on any man who has ever sat in a room with two other 'elders' while listening to a child tell them details about having sex with her/his father or another adult male/female.

  Shame on all you men who ever did that and tried to pretend or justify that it was okay. It wasn't.

  That flow chart is damning. Look how many men have access to child sex details, and how many times those stories of sex with minors are passed around and "investigated". And the information about child sex, complete with details about the minor, is sent up the line. To more men with "authority". And stored. A collection of "confidential" information on child sex that is accessible to only the elders.

  And then, they have the nerve to claim "confidentiality" privilege?? After it has been discussed among so many people?? No wonder the Catholic Church is offering testimony at the hearings - they want to keep their privilege of collecting child sex abuse details as well.

  What other organization does this? Conduct their own 'judical hearings' into matters of child sex? Would people be happy if their school did the same thing? Or their sports teams? How would a parent react if they found out that their child was questioned at school by three male teachers about sex?

  On one hand, the JWs have been trying to make the case that the elders have no special standing, they are of the same class as baptized publishers - "the worker class", yet they have powers that go far beyond what any other 'volunteer' in an organization has. I know of no other volunteer or group that would get away with probing for details from a child about alleged sex crimes the way that the JWs do.

  The judicial powers of the JWs must be stopped. Their judical process is abhorrent.