From a Witness point of view, the Two Witness rule has been established by the Watchtower, as being the only way to be fair and just to a person that has been accused. It has been repeatedly mentioned in study articles.
This of course, only makes it a paradise for a child molester. Without a confession from the molester or an eyewitness to the act besides the child, the elders will simply shrug their shoulders and say it's up to God to do something. Most witnesses, although frustrated, will do what the Watchtower says. They also will be hesitant to call the authorities because they have been repeatedly told that doing so, would bring reproach on God's name.
The other sad thing is, the Elders would happily consider a second child victim as another witness. So one child's testimony is not enough, you have to wait till another child is molested. Then the Elders are satisfied - sometimes.
During the Australian Royal Commission's examination of the Two Witness Rule, Angus Stewart for the ARC, brought out that there was an example found in the same account of the two witnesses, that only had one witness. A woman that was raped out in the fields and had screamed - tho no one heard her - successfully testified against the rapist and he was killed for his act. One of the Governing Body (one of eight men that lead the religion) wouldn't directly answer why they couldn't use that example in the case of a child being molested and testifying as one witness and being believed.
Most witnesses will not go against what the Governing Body says in this regards. It would be like going against the pope if you were Catholic.The reaction you will get if you try to make a point with a JW over this is - fear and strong denial.
The Governing Body, knowing full well that the ARC proceedings would show them to be an organization that didn't report child abuse by calling the police, recently put out another video saying they would always stick to the Two Witness rule. This was their way of making it about the Bible and that they were being righteous for sticking with that rule. So they couldn't be blamed for letting pedophiles remain in the congregation (and molesting more children) because hey, there was only one witness to the crime.
A few things that Witnesses have been told:
- Allegations that the Watchtower is hiding pedophiles is "Apostate driven lies"
- Child sexual abuse happens everywhere, so sometimes it happens within the JW world.
- These are isolated cases.
- Elders should be consulted first, not the police.
So as you can see, most JW's are guided to believe that the Two Witness rule is the best way to deal with any case, including child sexual abuse. They would have difficulty believing any thing that is negative about it. But it also worth a shot to try to help them see the situation in a new way.
Hope your efforts work.
