by flipper 37 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse
This statement is absolutely FALSE. Child abuse is everywhere! Nothing any organization does will prevent it.
Parents/families should be more protective of their young. Then again, what if the abuse happens within the family itself?
The problem I have is with the way it's handled. It should be turned to the authorities for investigation and, if true, appropriate punishment.
DY
thanks all. Please fwd on your comments to the ARC.
Doubtfully Yours - "Child abuse is everywhere! Nothing any organization does will prevent it."
Funny, I've never heard of it happening in organizations that embrace transparency.
DOUBTFULLY YOURS- I respectively disagree with you. If the WT Society made it mandatory for elders to first, foremost , and automatically report child abuse offenses to police authorities - I'd tend to agree with you- but WT leaders in the legal department try to HIDE child abuse crimes from police authorities by INSISTING that elders report to WT legal first. So it fosters distrust in a child abuse victims JW parents towards the elders and WT Society because the abused child's parents KNOW elders try to keep these sex crimes " in-house " . It's an abuse of power by WT leaders AND elders to keep child abuse on the down low.
And as regards parents/families trying to be more protective of their young ? How in the hell can they do that as JW's when elders or ministerial servants are assigned to work out in service with younger congregation members in car groups ? There have been many child abuse crimes committed in JW land where an adult brother was assigned to take young ones with him- then he took them to his own house to molest them ! That happened in the Candace Conti case. And the stupid WT leaders order it's members to OBEY those taking the lead , i.e. Ministerial servants & elders- so WTF ?
It's an abuse of power- plain and simple. There is TOO MUCH trust expected from children and congregation members in it's leaders and too much coverup when these leaders do wrong. It fosters lack of trust and secrecy which fosters conditions making child abuse easier to occur
ZEB- Great idea . Thanks.
VIDIOT- Exactly. If there was more honesty and transparency in the WT organization - perhaps a child abuse policy that actually protects children might work. But WT leaders don't want to be transparent- they want to deceive
Three words describe the problem...
..."pervasive"...
..."institutionalized"...
..."endemic".
Doubtful: This statement is absolutely FALSE. Child abuse is everywhere! Nothing any organization does will prevent it.
Yes, child abuse is everywhere. And it is especially bad within fundamentalist and evangelical religions. What a religious organization has to do (and it won't) is change the theological teachings that create a victim-predator environment.
The problem of child abuse goes far beyond just the organizational structure. The problem is embedded in the religious teachings themselves.
Do you remember the Duggar sex scandal? This following article is a response to that scandal and it discusses how the religious teachings are responsible for fostering a climate of child abuse:
http://fiddlrts.blogspot.ca/2015/05/the-duggars-how-fundamentalisms.html
Of course the above article is talking about a different religion than the JWs, but it isn't difficult to make the transition to the similarities in JW doctrine and practice.
This is another article that examines how fundamental religions contribute to a victim culture by removing agency and bodily autonomy:
When it comes to combating child abuse within the JWs, I think the problem is far, far more serious and systemic than just a reporting issue. Making the reporting of suspected cases of child abuse is a band-aid solution at best. The festering wound will never heal - the infection arises from the belief system itself.
VIDIOT- Very good description, I agree.
ORPHAN CROW- Thanks for the links and yes, child abuse is a huge problem within organized religions. Thanks for exposing it
