Barbara and Joe Anderson (2016) Browse Documents Learn more about Barbara Barbara Anderson was a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses from 1954 to 1997. Working at the Watchtower’s headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband Joe from 1982 to 1992, she researched and wrote articles for the Awake! magazine, as well as researched the movement’s official history published in 1993 as “Jehovah’s Witnesses—Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom”. Barbara Anderson has a massive collection of documents, letters, and books representing nearly every decade since the 1830s. Her collection includes many old and long out-of-print volumes written by both supporters and critics of the Watch Tower Society and its founders. Barbara’s discoveries at Bethel and her extensive research on issues related to child sexual abuse in the religion lead to her becoming an outspoken critic of the Jehovah’s Witnesses sexual abuse policies on major TV and radio programs. 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Featured News Video Publications Recommended Spanish Watchtower Celebrities Child Abuse Child Sex Abuse Doctrines & Policies Blood Policy Education Shunning Ex-Jehovah's Witnesses Life Stories History & Leaders Governing Body Jehovah's Witnesses Secrets & Scandals Read Recent News Norway update from OSCE delegate post-2022 conferenceby Watchtower NewsDecember 4, 2022Re: Norway and the Watchtower’s new European “Freedom of Worship Office” This opening of this new ‘office’ in Europe appears to be the Watchtower’s answer to being exposed as a worldwide anti-human rights organization at the 2022 OSCE human rights conference in Warsaw, […] Tokyo woman and rapper confront the need for Jehovah’s Witness children to be able to communicate religious harm, asks for government cooperationby Watchtower NewsNovember 26, 2022“…children find themselves in dire situations where it is virtually impossible to speak their minds…” iidabii, Japanese rapper uses words to cure ills of abusive religious upbringing, as former Jehovah’s Witness—Mainichi Lloyd Barry, now deceased, served as a missionary in Japan for […] Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announces charges against four Jehovah’s Witnesses for sexual abuse of minorsby Watchtower NewsOctober 27, 2022All of the defendants’ victims were minors, as well as members of Jehovah’s Witness congregations. “These cases are disturbing, the allegations hard to imagine, and all share one common tie – the 19 victims and the four men who are being charged […] Six Screens covers OSCEby Watchtower NewsOctober 24, 2022Hear Barbara Anderson tell the story about how Yergali Abishev ended up an activist for human rights. “Anyone who works with children and does not report child sexual abuse should be prosecuted”by Watchtower NewsOctober 22, 2022Former prime minister Theresa May told BBC News she had “no idea” of the scale of child abuse when she set up the inquiry in 2015. The public inquiry was given a broad remit to investigate historical allegations of child abuse, dating […] How Washington State Law Lets Clergy Hide Child Sexual Abuseby Watchtower NewsOctober 22, 2022In Washington, clergy — unlike teachers, physicians, and law enforcement — are not listed as mandatory reporters of child abuse or neglect. In 1975, Washington lawmakers removed clergy members from its mandatory reporter list leaving the state with one of the nation’s […] Video to watch the OSCE Warsaw Human Dimension Conference, in English or Russianby Watchtower NewsOctober 7, 2022 OSCE 2022 Update: Governing Body Listens & Leavesby Watchtower NewsOctober 6, 2022“Yes, I saw [Geoffrey] Jackson at the plenary. He entered the hall 5 minutes before my speech. He did not speak, and immediately after my speech, he disappeared. I really wanted to take a picture with him, since he most likely did […] Raising Funds to Send Delegate to OSCEby Watchtower NewsOctober 2, 2022We will share reporting from WatchtowerDocuments.org after the #OSCE event provided by Yergali Abishev, your special delegate sent to Warsaw, Poland with the support of your generous donation. “In 2019, it became known that Jehovah’s Witnesses are using the political platform of […] Stopping Abuse Is Sexual Ethics 101by Watchtower NewsSeptember 24, 2022As the abuse crisis roils American evangelicalism, leaders are finally paying attention, if only because the accretion of cases is now impossible to ignore. Christians should not complain about the sexualization of culture while simultaneously ignoring the sexualization of women inside the […] Jehovah’s Witness facing more than 50 sexual assault-related chargesby Watchtower NewsSeptember 24, 2022Senior Jehovah’s Witnesses member charged with rape, torture and assault of teenage boys, the headline reads. Detectives fear there could be more victims and are urging anyone with information to come forward. View full news coverage The man, who cannot be named […] Over 1,000 charities combine in one of the world’s largest mergers ever —so-called charities merge and disappear from the accountability logs…by Watchtower NewsAugust 27, 2022More than 1,000 charities have unified in one of the largest voluntary sector mergers in history. Earlier this year, 1,279 Jehovah’s Witness congregations merged into national charity the Kingdom Hall Trust. Charity Commission records show this is by far the largest merger […] 💜 A Message of love and support to our brave and courageous 🇺🇦 Ukrainian friends & family, from Barbara Andersonby Watchtower NewsAugust 27, 2022Worldwide activist and Watchtower archivist Barbara Anderson shares a message from the exJW community supporting our friends and family in Ukraine. Margaret Keane, artist, former Jehovah’s Witness, and paradiseby Watchtower NewsAugust 27, 2022Peggy Doris Hawkins, better known to ‘the world’ as Margaret Keane, died from heart failure on June 26, 2022. Born September 15, 1927, this amazing and inspiring woman now rests in peace and paradise. The extraordinary story of Ms. Keane, who became […] Local Jehovah’s Witness Child Molester Goes on to Attend Insurrectionby Watchtower NewsAugust 1, 2022Reporting by Amanda Gailey, SeeingRedNebraska.com Court documents show that elders at Crowl’s church–The Belmont Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Lincoln–had “investigated” the abuse claim in 2013, just to see if Crowl was in need of spiritual assistance. According to the documents, one […] 2002 Dateline Exposéby Watchtower UndercoverJuly 30, 2022Watch as Barbara begins the crusade against the Watchtower as Dateline reporters clearly demonstrate how Jehovah’s Witness child molesters and pedophiles continue to attend meetings and participate in the door-to-door preaching work in your community. They are not only allowed—but even encouraged […] A little blue bird is tweet, tweeting about California… have you heard?by Watchtower NewsJuly 30, 2022JW elders in California say their hands are tied by state law when it comes to reporting "admitted pedophiles" because they risk facing jail time.They're willing to face jail for free speech and freedom of faith, but not when it comes to […] North Okanagan Jehovah’s Witnesses ordered to hand over private recordsby Watchtower NewsJuly 18, 2022A former North Okanagan Jehovah’s Witness has scored a minor legal victory in getting the religious organization to hand over personal information it holds about them, following a ruling from B.C.’s privacy commissioner. The Coldstream Jehovah’s Witness Congregation had refused to hand […] Follow the Telegraph’s Investigations team on their year-long hunt into the Jehovah’s Witnessesby Watchtower NewsJuly 15, 2022Introducing Call Bethel, a new Telegraph podcast In August 2021, an email arrives in the Telegraph’s investigations inbox claiming the Jehovah’s Witnesses have a hidden database of alleged abusers. The reporters start on the trail… Brave whistleblowers. A trail of data. A […] Listening to Lacie Jonesby Watchtower NewsJuly 13, 2022Lacie Jones suffered abuse at the hands of her stepfather: ‘He was seen as a very pious man, a very moral man’. Listen to the story of Lacie Jones in this new Telegraph podcast that investigates the inside story of child sexual […] Religious organisation has kept details of molestation accusations over the last 25 years at its headquartersby Watchtower NewsJuly 13, 2022One such allegation was from Lacie Jones, pictured as a child, whose stepfather, a senior Jehovah’s Witness, was recently jailed for abusing her when she was younger. The Jehovah’s Witness organisation has amassed a secret database of child sexual abuse allegations against […] Tim Stier, a former Catholic priest writes his farewell letter, regarding the handling of children and other elements of love…by Watchtower NewsJune 1, 2022Editor’s note: This story was updated to clarify the details of who administered communion to Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The diocese “didn’t know what to do with me,” Stier said. “They were hoping I’d come back. I was a well-respected, competent pastor.” Crying […] Michael’s Storyby Watchtower NewsMay 30, 2022This video is hard to watch as Michael tells his small town story. Midway through this video we learn from Jeff, who has never been a Jehovah’s Witness, that he had become friends with Michael since this interview—and he blames the Watchtower […] Barbara Anderson’s Dateline Diaryby Watchtower UndercoverMay 28, 2022Barbara is truly a heroic individual to those of us who feel strongly about the abuses of Watchtower and seeing them brought to the light. Twenty years ago today, Barbara appeared on Dateline and launched the exposé uncovering the hidden documents the […]