is it the law in england for elders to report child sex abuse to the police ? i think teachers and others in a position of trust have to . if not i dont understand why the elders themselves dont think it is wrong, if a brother confesed to the elders that he had murdered someone would they report that to the police ? or just reproove him and say dont do that again . iif they would report a murder to the police then why not a child being raped , most prisoners look down on the child rapists much more so than some murderers. is it the law in england ?
do elders in england have to report abuse ?
by looloo 10 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse
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hamsterbait
I think it is the case if the child tells the elder directly.
You need to check on whether clergy have a "duty of care" to children they are supervising at sunday schools clubs, etc.
Of course in the California pedo protection case, the Witchtower alleged that they did not have to report the repeated abuse of children as the elders are not clergy and have no such duty of care.
All hail to Barbara for dredging up the Babble and tricks of the Society. It really is a chocolate cake defence.
In the recent case in London, it is interesting that even though the elders in Bristol and at Bethel knew about the molestation, no action was taken to inform the authorities. It was the victims who brought things out into the open.
In two separated cases in Scotland no report was made. In one case the elders knew of one little girl being raped by her father, but when her sister also complained to elders, she was called a liar.
The police officer interviewed said the elders were uncooperative with the investigation.
In the other, no court case ever took place, so I assume that it was successfully hushed up.
HB
I have to add that in 35+ years with the WT, I have personally known perpetrators and victims of violent assault, and all were told to shut up and not go to the police.
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BluesBrother
I cannot answer with authority, but it is my belief that they are not legally obliged to report in the U K.
In the only case that I knew of , in 20+ years of eldership until the late nineties - The girl was under age for sex but not raped - her father reported it and he was not obstructed in that by the elders
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looloo
legally, the term 'rape' is used for anyone who is 13 years old and under as they are not considered of giving informed consent. I know the elders reported another child molester in the congregation to the police, I just wished they had reported the other one
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Dansk
After it was known Panorama would be highlighting paedophilia in the congregations the Watchtower hastily typed out a letter to be sent to all congregations. If I recall correctly (?) the letter inferred the congregations that rape and child abuse, etc., should be reported to the authorities.
Obviously, it was done to cover their backsides.
Ian
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primitivegenius
and thats what makes them such peices of crap......... they dont give a Flying F&^% about the welfare of the children......... instead they play the ........ cover our a$$ role yet again........... discusting
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Mile 0
The WT is missing a golden opportunity to correct this and have an outcome that is mutually beneficial. I don't know why someone in legal doesn't say something. Maybe they are but the old farts aren't listening...
The Society should, through both their public relations dept. and to all the congs, issue a new policy. From NOW ON, when this happens, the first call is made to the authorities. Period. If an elder is the first one to become aware of something going on his first call is to the cops. This is a criminal matter now. This takes it completely out of the hands of EVERYONE except the professionals trained to do this properly. Best chance of weeding out false claims. If the public were to view the witnesses as one whose organization itself is the power behind the pro-active effort to expose abusers, the org could score serious points in this regard. At the same time, the Society could insulate itself from any legal or civil issues.
The Society got in this mess by trying to keep this a congregational matter and treated as a sin first, thereby often resulting in the obstruction of justice, IMO. This has resulted in some very bad publicity for them. And of course, it is still the Society's policy that elders don't have to report in jurisdictions where it isn't required by law.
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Gordy
As stated above I don't think there is any legal reason that a JW Elder has to report any abuse. I'm not sure but I think it is a requirement that if a person works in a "position of trust" that is anyone who works with children, teacher, nursery staff, sports coach, etc do have a legal obligation to make anything known.
If you are going to be working with children you have to be checked by the Crinminal Records Bureau (CRB). In the church I attend even if you are only a volunteer for the Sunday school, who have to have a CRB check. Though even this is not foolproof, as can be seen by past cases in Britain.
But that being said how many times have we read or heard in the news about when a child has been abused, usually after they have died. That you get neighbours, or even relatives of the family, saying they "thought" something was going on but didn't like to say anything.
In Britain a person can call the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) this can be done anonymously. They will send someone round to check out the situation.
We also have "Childline" which a child can call free, and tell people what is happening to them.
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Lady Lee
From wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_abuse
Reporting Abuse in the UK
All professionals who work with children, such as teachers, health professionals and the like are required to report to social services (or the police as appropriate) any 'concern' amounting to possible 'significant harm' (neglect, physical, sexual or emotional abuse) regarding a child's welfare. The police and social services operate a multi-agency approach in cases of serious abuse. A system of referrals to Social Services so that one authority held all information started in the 1960s following the death of Maria Colwell, but was insufficiently effective and a number of notorious cases over the years have resulted in several major overhauls of the system, the most recent following the death of Victoria Climbie in 2000. Social Service departments, organised regionally, are required to investigate reports of abuse, keep records and take appropriate action to protect children. This can range from the provision of advice and support to families through to immediate removal under an Emergency Protection Order, and Care Proceedings which may result in permanent placement of the child outside the family. The threshold to enable a court to make an order is actual or likely significant harm. In care proceedings the welfare of the child is paramount and all information affecting the welfare of a child must be disclosed by professionals, including lawyers, regardless of their clients' interests.
Now wether an elder falls into the category might be disputed esp by the WTS
hmmmmm I typed duty to report child abuse UK into the above link and found something quite interesting
Results 1-20 of 241
Number 1 on the list
Jehovah's Witnesses and child sex abuse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In recent years, Jehovah's Witnesses, in common with other religious organizations, have been obliged to develop child protection policies to deal with cases of child abuse or pedophilia in their congregations. Like most people, Jehovah's Witnesses find child abuse repugnant. Church leaders believe they have a "strong, Bible-based policy on child abuse." [1] Details of the policy have been published in Watch Tower Publications and Press Releases,[1] although some details are found only in letters to elders, which, while confidential, have been available on the internet for some years. Relevance: 100.0% - - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah%27s_Witnesses_and_child_sex_abuse
This article is definitely pro WTS/JW at first but further down it discusses the issues that many have about the flaws in the WTS' policy and its practice of reporting child abuse
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joshboy
Hi
Someone said:
"In the recent case in London, it is interesting that even though the elders in Bristol and at Bethel knew about the molestation, no action was taken to inform the authorities. It was the victims who brought things out into the open."
But I don't think that's the case, if its the Porter case youre talking about. An elder I know told me that it was the elders in his congregation that told him to go to the police.
josh