Jehovah’s Witnesses Should be Included in UK Inquiry

PRESS RELEASE –

AAWA: UK Child abuse inquiry “Should include Jehovah’s Witnesses”

Advocates for the Awareness of Watchtower Abuses (AAWA) welcomes the UK’s wide-ranging  public inquiry into historic child abuse in public institutions. We welcome the news that the overarching inquiry, led by an expert panel, will try to bring together the “institutional lessons” not only from the Home Office, but also from the NHS, the BBC, social services and churches for future child protection work.

We have taken note of the comments of Peter Wanless, the Chief Executive of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), who is leading a review into the Home Office’s handling of abuse allegations:

“If someone consciously knows that there is a crime committed against a child and does nothing about it because they put the reputation of the organisation above the safety of that child, that should be a criminal offence.”

We welcome this concept and ask the inquiry to include an investigation into Jehovah’s Witnesses. They have documented policies that are designed to protect the organization at the expense of their child abuse victims.

While the terms of reference of this inquiry have not yet fully been shared, we trust that the following commitment given by Home Secretary, Theresa May, will ensure Jehovah’s Witnesses are included and put under the spotlight.

“We will adopt a presumption of maximum transparency. And that where there has been a failure to protect children from abuse, we will expose it, and we will learn from it.”

As the courts deal with more Jehovah’s Witnesses who are unreported perpetrators and have been able to hide behind the protection provided them by Watchtower Society rules, more victims of historical child abuse are speaking out. They are exposing the flawed policies and patriarchal tactics that originally silenced them.

It should be noted by the Child Abuse Inquiry, that David Clohessy, the Director of SNAP, (the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) said of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ “two witness rule” for child abuse:

“I can’t recall ever seeing a policy anywhere that is more predator-friendly and self-serving than the Watchtower’s ‘two witnesses’ rule. On its face, it is dangerous and callous. If any crime is likely to have no witnesses, it is child sexual abuse. If the law enforcement community adopted this rule only a handful of child predators would be charged, convicted and imprisoned every year.”

In early July 2014, a Welsh court convicted Mark Sewell, yet another Jehovah’s Witness perpetrator. This single case revealed how 19 Jehovah’s Witness leaders were aware of crimes – but made no report to the authorities.

Such cover-ups within Jehovah’s Witness congregations are prompted by internal courts known as “Judicial Committees” that consider and decide criminal matters. The procedures, written instructions, and qualifications of the elders involved all need to be investigated. The records and decisions of Judicial Committees, past and present, need to be uncovered and reviewed. Lessons learned from these investigations should be shared and publicized.

Internal reports made by Judicial Committees to Jehovah’s Witnesses’ UK’s Head Office in Mill Hill, London, must become a part the evidence reviewed by this inquiry.

In this context we welcome the statement of the UK’s Prime Minister when he said:

“And it’s also important that the police feel that they can go wherever the evidence leads, and they can make all the appropriate arrangements to investigate these things properly.”

Other areas for investigation

Currently, convicted and unreported perpetrators can move freely from one Jehovah’s Witness congregation to another. Their crimes and activities are not revealed to the “faithful” – who unknowingly might allow these criminal pedophiles access to their children.

The crime of child molestation – and even rape – are considered “forgivable sins” due to “spiritual weakness” on the part of the criminal. This enables a conspiracy of silence to be perpetuated within the congregations and allows for convicted and unreported perpetrators to continue abusing.

Congregation members, abuse survivors and their families need to know exactly who these convicted and unreported perpetrators are and how they are monitored. This should be the case, not only for the affected congregations, but also others nearby that criminals might visit or transfer into.

Jehovah’s Witnesses are required to preach their message from door to door. Currently, convicted and unreported perpetrators also go from door to door preaching and offering the Watchtower Society publications to the public. Some convicted and unreported perpetrators may be accompanied by an elder within the congregation during scheduled field service meetings. And yet there is nothing to prevent them going from door to door alone or returning to someone’s home unaccompanied at a later date.

Because of their reputation for preaching from door to door, Jehovah’s Witnesses are frequently invited into many homes that have children. They often do so out of good faith and general reputation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, but be totally unaware that the person knocking on their door has a criminal record or reputation of being a sexual abuser or deviant.

This activity must be investigated and stopped

The Charity Commission has also opened a statutory inquiry into the operations of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the UK. The specific concerns of the Charity Commission relate to the matters already outlined by this statement.

Trustees should be called to account for policy failures. This in turn could make sure that the worldwide organization known as the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society changes their flawed policies and are forced to make significant policy modifications that will ultimately and significantly protect children.

Help for abuse survivors

AAWA also asks that counselling, therapy, support and compensation will be made available to the survivors of abuse. As more historical cases come to the fore, a broader range of support will be needed. The costs of this support should be paid for by those responsible, the International Bible Students Association, the UK branch of the Watchtower Society. They arrogantly continue to hold onto and enforce policies that perpetuate abuse and silence within their congregations.

AAWA is not only willing to speak out and be involved, but will be eager to aid the inquiry in any investigation into the International Bible Students Association known as Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Advocates for the Awareness of Watchtower Abuses (AAWA) is an international organization committed to raising awareness of these continuing human rights abuses, has extended an open offer to the leaders of Jehovah’s Witnesses to meet and discuss ways in which the organization can remedy these distressing issues. So far, this offer has gone unanswered.


 

More Information Links:

Advocates for Awareness of Watchtower Abuses (AAWA)

Background: AAWA is a religiously neutral organization, a not-for-profit corporation with 260 volunteers from over twenty countries committed to objectively and respectfully raise awareness and to help victims of abusive Watchtower (Jehovah’s Witnesses) policies.

AAWA.co is the official website of Advocates for Awareness of Watchtower Abuses, a legally incorporated educational organization. While its members and volunteers have their own opinions, they do not proselytize their personal religious or secular beliefs while representing AAWA.

AAWA’s founders include men and women living in five countries on three continents. All AAWA officers and board members have declared their commitment to presenting responsible and well-informed reporting focused on five of the Watchtower Society’s harmful policies. [AAWA Mission Statement]

AAWA also freely offers support for those who are struggling mentally and emotionally as a result of their leaving the Watchtower – an organization that many experts consider an “unethical mind-controlling religion” that has established and maintained undue influence over its members. URL: https://www.aawa.co

Press & Media Contact: Sue Hall at Media@aawa.co


Comments

Jehovah’s Witnesses Should be Included in UK Inquiry — 6 Comments

  1. I hope inquiries extend to the rest of the world, including my beautiful country which has been spoiled by the Watchtower…

  2. Living in Arizona, in the United States, we receive post cards from the State whenever a child molester moves into our neighborhood delivered by mail. These cards have the picture of the person, the address they are moving into and their crime (examples: molested 3 women, raped his mentally challenged step daughter, had sexual relations with a minor girl, had sexual relations with a minor boy) and a written description of the person. I wonder what the WT organization thinks of this? They can’t hide from the on-line registry either. If they are caught, this will happen to them as well as to everyone else. How do you explain having a: brother’s” sex offender card delivered to the door of a neighboring witness? Do you silence them? How?

  3. Hello, I dont know if you guys know Bill Maloney of Pie n Mash films, he did various excellent movies one being “Sun sea and satan” about institutional child abuse at Haute dela grange in Jersey UK. He has been trying to fight child sexual abuse in institutions for years and I think if you can contact him it may be of help?

  4. Holy Bible/Joshua 6/5: Tel Aviv building collapse! BHO! Mr.Pre.Benjamin Nathanyahoo.com of Israel! First u got to sale the book to Israelis!
    • Listen REC_0000564; my voice file for the moment! Later I’ll send u my letter in detail.
    • Michael is not Emmanuel or Messiah or Lord Jesus Christ.
    • Lord Jesus Christ is not the Heavenly father God Jehovah.
    • Jesus is Elder Son of one & only God to the entire Universe i.e. God Jehovah.
    • Jesus is not Joshua.
    • Michael is me or the lost child of God Jehovah. Or dead Child by his words.
    07-09-2016 by
    Prince Michael or Lord Ram or Xmax(BSE) or Supaharan.n or Switcher.

  5. Holy Bible: Swiss air when? Bho! & But second fighter jet has gone in this year? Nasa speceX informs US to get out of NATO.
    • Revelation 19/20 & John 14/16: Remember! If Dalai Lama (81yrs old) dies or Punchen Lama dies or I die! All what I said/wrote r lies?
    • If any of us dies! Automatically the book I wrote “the lost child of God Jehovah or the lost brother of Lord Jesus Christ” will be a complete lie. If not all I have been saying/writing up to now r truth.
    • If all I said were truth. 1n 1999 I reborn in Swiss. So 9.9 magnitude earthquake is waiting to Swiss because they did not look after my expenses. Swiss may say that they did not experience an earthquake jet. Will experience & 2 of my selective targets to them will be destroyed with in a single day & for the third I will personally fly with my wings & come to Zermatt after fixing this elliptical shape over to Jerusalem in Israel.
    • Holy Bible/Daniel 12/1: Sori will receive more than 9.9 & those who r doing business with Sorilanka will lose all within a single day.
    • Before throwing them into the hell! Dalai Lama, punchen Lama must be caught alive.
    • Remember! Elliptical Shape is the door to hell. One angel of us will open it & I’ll carry the door to original Jerusalem & paste over to it.
    • Holy Bible/Revelation 20/2: Satan Sathya sai Baba got caught already. In other word he died & got caught. Holy Bible does not say that he must be caught alive.
    • Holy Bible/John 14/16 & Daniel 12/1: I must stay alive until the end & then I got to wake up in my original Blue form.
    • Holy Bible/Luke 15: I live in my poverty. Running my life without money! Swiss did not pay any. & Sori Lankan Sinhalese bastards did not pay my legal pension money jet.
    • But! Satan Sathya Sai Baba was rich before dying, his sons Dalai Lama, punchen Lama r rich enough visiting to US occasionally. So they r experiencing a luxury life. Even Satan’s servants do the same.
    • Note well about this “Madness Game’ I named it in 1999 in Swiss! If any of us dies! All what I said/wrote up to now will conclude as lies? Imagination of a fool or mad. Holy Bible may/might be true but, what I created using Holy Bible is a complete madness story & implies I’m not the brother of Lord Jesus Christ or lost son of God Jehovah. What I have been saying (record messages)/writing since 1999 will be lies. Nothing will happen to my enemies like Swiss & Sori Government authorities.
    • If not? Enemies of mine? Always make ready ur missiles to launch against me.
    02-08-2016 by
    Prince Michael or Lord Ram or Xmax(BSE) or Supahran.n or Switcher.

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