Law Firm Describes JW Child Abuse Claims

A Nova Scotia based law firm, McKiggan Hebert Lawyers, published a rather extensive overview of claims that Watchtower and Jehovah’s Witness leaders are involved in covering up child abuse within the religion. The undated post appears prominently on their corporate website.

The article mentions the growing publicity describing the Watchtower’s troubled mismanagement of criminal cases involving Jehovah’s Witnesses in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Jehovah’s Witness Sexual Abuse Claims

Is The Watch Tower Society covering up child abuse?

Unlike similar articles posted by newspapers and other sources, this article goes right to the most damaging complaint about what frequently happens to child abuse victims who choose to leave the religion: Enforced “shunning” by former JW friends and family.

“Finally, and perhaps most damaging, Jehovah’s Witness sexual abuse victims who choose to leave the organization in the wake of their abuse are shunned (disfellowshipped).  For victims of abuse this means social, and cultural banishment just when the abuse survivor is most vulnerable.”

The report goes on to describe what has happened on the legal front in Australia, Great Britain, the United States and Canada. They point out that the Watchtower organization has been less than helpful to the legal authorities by stonewalling and withholding important documents.

“Superior and Supreme Court rulings in the US have made repeated requests for documents that are part of a decades-old database of Jehovah’s Witness sexual abuse activity kept under lock and key by the JW organization. The JW organization has refused to obey court orders.”

Read this well prepared and informative article for yourself and share it with others. You can find the original published version at the links below.

 

The Watchtower leaders continue to damage their reputation worldwide by refusing to review or change their failed and unfair policies involving child abuse and other criminal acts by Jehovah’s Witnesses. As the above referenced article points out – time is running out for the Watchtower and its leadership. They need to change their methods and policies now! 

The Watchtower has established a reputation for frequently changing their teachings and doctrines – especially when it involves false and failed prophetic events. They have survived “Millions Now Living Will Never Die” and “Stay Alive Until ’75” – and many other missteps. Now is the time for the Governing Body and the Watchtower’s Legal Department to admit that they have mishandled the issues of child abuse, shunning, and their blood transfusion policies and make significant policy changes immediately. They can call it “new light” or “inspiration from the Holy Spirit” – or whatever they want. It’s time for them to start protecting the lives of their children and other members instead of punishing them for being victims.

Read the aforementioned article HERE. Feel free to share and comment below.

 


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Carrie Woods

Carrie Woods

Thank you Barbara for your dedication and hard work. I think about my niece who was baptized last summer at the age of 13. A side note, is there an update to the hearing that was supposed to be held in San Diego on Sept. 15 regarding the court sanction of $4000 per day levied against the JWs for not releasing documents regarding child abuse cases? I am especially interested in this one since I live in San Diego County. Thanks again!

Mat

Mat

Yes, we would like to know about this too.

Carrie Woods

Carrie Woods

Hi Barbara, been waiting for some current info on this subject. I’m not computer savvy and I’m on a chrome which won’t let me copy and paste – but the website is: jwvictims.org. And I’m sure you’re on top of this! And, probably have much more information.

Paschalis Stampoulidis

Paschalis Stampoulidis

“Look out that nobody misleads YOU;
for many will come on the basis of my name,
… and will mislead many.”
-Matthew 24:4,5
There was a time, when Judaism was the true religion, and soon Satanas took care of it. At another time, first-century Christianity was the only true religion, and as Paul himself warned, Satan soon took care of it as well, as he did with every religious group that began with true intentions, on the right path.
Therefore, what we have left is to keep in mind the words of Jesus, to educate our family in this sense …. and that’s all.

Sharon Christensen

Sharon Christensen

Thankyou Barbara, appreciate all this info. It will help many as they see they are not alone in their struggles to cope with the affects of abuse from the very abusive religion and their policies that do not protect people harmed by them. The shunning policy is also very inhumane…Jw.org forces people to go against their natural instinct to care for their loved ones in their families…Keep on exposing …Thanx again.

Robin James Roberts

Robin James Roberts

This is a shocker ….to me……no longer connected to JWs
….for them to be in this kind of trouble

Mat

Mat

Robin James Roberts, well that’s a good sign that it’s a shocker to you. It IS shocking that one claiming to be truth is anything but. Jesus was right. Many will come in my name and mislead many. The Bible is true and inspired. Religion is not. Especially WT, it is woeful. We have been scammed through and through.

Sharon Christensen

Sharon Christensen

Jehovah’s Witnesses = Big business…only concern is to get everyones money…give to Jehovah = give to them…Give ones life…to Jehovah= give to Jw.org…They care only about controlling peoples lives…taking every thing from them…even sell the family goat in poorer countries and give to Jehovah= Jw.org…They are an extremist money sucking, blood sucking, life sucking, pedophile protecting org…hiding under the guise of being a “True Religion”… anything but such…They are a extremely dangerous cult…people must be warned…thanx to all who are doing this very thing…it will save lives from being ruined.

John Butler

John Butler

UM, the child abuse thing I agree on yes. However the money thing you are totally out of order. Anybody can go to a Kingdom hall every week, every year and never put a coin in the collection box ever. All the magazines and books are given away totally free. Bible studies given to people in their homes each week totally free. Brothers and sisters will even pick people up in their own cars to take them to meetings at KH, not charging for fuel. So get your facts right, as talking rubbish only lessons the cause. I have just left the ‘Organisation’ because of the child abuse earthwide, but I don’t slag off the JW org for other things. JW’s can back up most things by Bible instructions or Bible principles. You either want to live by that or you don’t, simple choice. As for families of disfellowshipped people. One of our daughters was disfellowshipped and it didn’t stop us talking to her or visiting her. We made our own choices. It’s about being balanced…

Matilda

Matilda

John Butler, Sharon was right ! They want people’s money !! Bethel wants your money. Bethel spends millions of dollars that it does not earn !! It’s called dishonest gain and thievery.

Paschalis

Paschalis

“So get your facts right, as talking rubbish only lessons the cause.”
OK…so, let’s do it right:
1-“Anybody can go to a Kingdom hall every week, every year and never put a coin in the collection box ever.” That’s true. But. it’s true also for almost all “christian” religions today. The thing they count on, is that being there, a person feels ashame and finally contributes.
2-“All the magazines and books are given away totally free.” Same.
3-“Bible studies given to people in their homes each week totally free. Brothers and sisters will even pick people up in their own cars to take them to meetings at KH, not charging for fuel.” Nobody said that the afiliated Witnesses are bad people. Having travelled to almost 80 countries, in my opinion the JW are the best people, with pure inclinations and respect for God and the Bible. But, afiliated people of almost all”christian” religions ARE EQUALLY GOOD PEOPLE.
The problem with the Watchtower, is the same of the other religions: their governing body. As the Bible clearlly states, when se support a part of “Babylon, the Great”, we are part of the problem, and deserve punishment.
For decades the GB of the JW teached that the United Nations Organization was represented in the book of Revelation, whilist secretly the WT was a member of it.
“God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ … But you say, (…Shunning, for example…)
So you have made the word of God invalid because of your tradition.
You hypocrites, Isaiah aptly prophesied about you when he said: ‘This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far removed from me.
It is in vain that they keep worshipping me, for they teach commands of men as doctrines.’” Matthew 15
“Look out that nobody misleads YOU;
for many will come on the basis of my name,
… and will mislead many.”
-Matthew 24:4,5
Watch out, brother.

John Butler

John Butler

So basically you’ve agreed with what I’ve written… Then, 1 Corinthians Ch5 V 11 gives instruction to not even eat with a ‘brother’ or sister that is not serving God properly. Corinthians was written by the Apostle Paul who had Holy Spirit from God through Jesus Christ. Remember that ‘all scripture is inspired of God’. Also remember that we do not live by the Mosaic Law, that was only for the ‘Nation of Israel’. As for being part of the UN your statement is a bit of a wide open one. The JW org was part of ‘part of the UN’. It was to do with giving and getting information, not being involved or supporting UN decisions. But of course we will have to agree to differ on that one. And the JW org is no longer involved with the UN at all. You finish by saying ‘Watch out brother’, but I’m not a brother. I left the ‘Org’ because of the child abuse and because of the Governing Body refusing to hand over the documents relating to 20 years of child abuse accusations. I do realise it’s costing the Org millions of US dollars to withhold this info’ and I cannot understand why they feel they need to waste the money on defending Pedos’. My main point is, by making lots of other accusations against the JW org, and by getting overly emotional about it all, that it loses the main point of getting the whole truth about the child sex abuse earthwide. I’d personally want to stick to that one point and find out what’s happening within the ‘org’ regarding the Governing Body’s refusal to hand over the documents. I think the whole of the Governing Body and their ‘Legal Dept’ should leave the Organisation.

Paschalis

Paschalis

In different ways & levels, we are saying almost the same thing, John.
I am greek, and I have checked the teachings of the WT in the original Greek.
I think that among the contemporary religions, this organization understands better than any other the teachings of the Bible.
But, somewhere along the way, Mr. Satan found a way to stealthily infiltrate and dissolve the golden rule of any religion: the truth.
The same happend in all true religions in history. (Judaism, Christianity, and many other atempts)
That’s why Paul admonished about the future “wolfs”, and Christ warned about the end of times.
“Brother” as a God’s criation.
So, I wish you peace.
Be well, friend.