It seems to me that the place where the WT is most vulnerable would be in their inquisitions. I have never been involved in a JC in any way, but it seems to me that the law suit that should be brought forward is one of sexual harassment. I would think that a jury would be very sympathetic with a young lady being asked prurient questions in a room alone with men. The men could go to jail if the young lady were a minor. Even a man could sue them for sexual harassment.
Class action suit for pain, suffering & discrimination
by lettib74 55 Replies latest jw friends
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besty
Jack214 - I noted your comments on the minors issue - basically you seem to be supportive of action here - good - we are on the same page - good idea about involving Child Protection Services!
Let's not forget this thread is about the coercion and subsequent disfellowshipping of incredibly vulnerable minors:
"I was born and raised in the organization, baptized at 13...it was the "in" thing at the time. At 17 I became pregnant and was disfellowshipped the day after I graduated from High School. "
As per the video I posted above the WTS encourages the baptism of minors and as Leolaia eloquently put it on another thread:
"If you started off as an adult learning about the "truth", you are free to ask any question and voluntarily come to your own conclusion of whether the religion is "the truth". But for those who were first exposed to the religion as children, there is no such opportunity -- it is presented with the force of parental authority as the "truth", and the young mind is not able to critically examine the religion in the same way as a more experienced adult."
Children born into high control fundamentalist groups that hold societal and familial alienation over their heads as a punishment for non-conformance need to be examined for potential abuse issues.
That battle has been lost already by the WTS when it comes to medical treatment of minors - why is their mental well-being any different?
Children have Universal Rights - the WTS abuse and disregard these rights when they coerce into baptism and again when they DF and shun.
Undercover - assume the video portrays the WTS as an organization which positively encourages, promotes and endorses child baptism. What are your views on the coercion of minors and then potential shunning, tantamount to psychological abuse, if they 'step out of line'?
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lettib74
I never thought about it in that way. I was 18 at the time. Is there a statute of limitations on sexual harrassment? I will look into this as well!
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Mad Dawg
I suspect that because you were "of age" (18) at the time, that the statute of limitations is past. It depends on where you live. Perhaps you could start another thread looking for people who were under age - boys as well as girls - that went through this. Have them PM you to maintain their privacy. Make it plain that you are recruiting for a class action suit. Because of the passing of time, you might not qualify yourself, but you could help others. I'll bet you could find quite a few thousand individuals that do qualify. Don't forget to get ex-elders to testify what questions they would ask in the JC's.
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lettib74
Interesting link.............Shunned & Depressed, former JW is killed in assisted suicide
http://www.iniquityx.com/2009/05/15/shunned-depressed-former-jw-is-killed-in-assisted-suicide/
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lettib74
Parents prosecuted for forcing girl to join Jehovah’s Witnesses:
http://www.iniquityx.com/2009/05/04/parents-prosecuted-for-forcing-girl-to-join-jehovahs-witnesses/
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lettib74
Man sees subtle victory in fight against Jehovah's Witnesses
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VIII
If Scientologists can get away with being called and being classified as a *religion* the JWs can get away with DFing people and doing the nutty things they do. Which, in comparison, are a lot more biblical based than L. Ron Hubbard.
Given that, a lawsuit is a pipe dream.
But, good luck. Negative press on them is good.
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besty
Given that, a lawsuit is a pipe dream.
erm...no.
The accepted moral normalities of a society change through time - seen any witches burned round your way recently?
We have seen a massive increase in corporate compliance legislation, in health and safety legislation, in public liability legislation and now increasingly there is focus on the public benefit of charitable bodies.
If a charity can be shown to have risk to the public, and particularly children, this could initially lead to their tax-exempt status being revoked, prior to more stringent actions against them.
Most Western governments have just shelled out trillions of dollars on stimulus packages - don't underestimate their rapacity to raise revenue from previously untapped sources. And a pretext of 'iffy' treatment of minors is a much better reason than required to start the ball rolling.
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besty
Incidentally if the WTS ever stop baptizing and DF'ing minors my guess is that its part of a taxable status settlement.
Go Eurocrats! Go Eurocrats!