Hey, Dragon!
I don't think you're wrong to ask tough questions.
I, personally support Silentlambs. I support its work to help JW victims of abuse by
a) actually understanding the dynamics of the JW organization;
b) directing them to help lines, attorneys, etc.;
c) validating their experiences by
....1 listening to and believing their stories of abuse; and
....2 allowing them a voice, which for many abuse survivors, is important. There are many going to Brooklyn this week precisely because it will help them heal to come out publicly telling the WT and any in the world who pay heed "This DID happen to me as a member of the congregation, BY a congregation member. The Society needs to RECOGNIZE that there are crimes being committed by their membership and something MUST BE DONE TO PREVENT THIS HAPPENING TO ANYONE ELSE!" (Read: "more little children.")
What I would like to see happen as an effect of the Silentlambs protest movement is that the Society
1. Instruct its members that they should go straight to the police when an allegation of child abuse arises so that a proper investigation can ensue. The elders could accompany the accused or the victim to the police station, WHETHER OR NOT IT IS A LEGALLY MANDATED REPORTING STATE/PROVINCE/COUNTRY FOR "CLERGY". (The ethical thing to do in response to an allegation of child abuse is to make sure that future victims of the alleged molester are not at risk by one's failure to act to protect.)
2. Instruct its elders to ADVISE its members that the police must be informed IMMEDIATELY, whether the congregant bringing the matter to the elders' attention is the victim or the abuser. Alleged abusers should be encouraged not to lie and to turn themselves in to the police whether or not they have admitted the crime to the elders.
3. If the abuser DOES confess to the crime, the organization's policy should be to warn the congregation of the dangers posed by the abuser via a Service Meeting Announcement. It could simply be stated "Brother/Sister So-and-So has turned her/himself into the police for further investigation as a result of a charge of child molestation against him/her." The facts. No conjecture, no embellishment, just that the matter is now in Caesar's hands as good Witnesses are to be in subjection to the authories placed in their relative positions by God..
4. If the abuser has confessed to the crime, s/he must not be allowed any privileges in the congregation nor allowed to go house-to-house in the ministry. Letter writing and/or telephone witnessing will help the abuser fulfill her/his obligation to "preach the good news" while he/she awaits the outcome of the secular trial.
5. If the abuser is convicted of the crime ... well, this gets sticky for me. I HATE the shunning that goes along with disfellowshipping, so I hate to recommend expulsion from the JW community as a punishment from the abuser's spiritual community. However, official expulsion WITHOUT THE SHUNNING might be an option. The abuser will likely be doing jail time, anyway, if convicted. Yet, I think family and friends need not be prevented by WT rules from having any contact at all with the abuser. (That would be a matter of conscience: WOULD they, COULD they want to associate with such a despicable criminal?) Official expulsion would also be announced from the platform in a matter of fact way.
6. The victim/accuser of the Brother/Sister should be supported 100% and not prevented from speaking about the abuse when he or she chooses and to whom he or she chooses. Victims of sexual molestation often need to talk about the trauma in order to heal (as one of the WT's very own early articles opined). S/he should feel free to talk publicly about the criminal investigation which is under way (as long at his/her attorney didn't advise otherwise) AND feel free to consult a psychologist and/or psychiatrist for care and treatment WITHOUT incurring a Society guilt-trip for going to 'the world' for help. The victim should NOT have to CONFRONT his/her molestor NOR to DESCRIBE IN DETAIL the assault to the elders.
Hmmmmm.... did I leave anything out? Probably. It's late.
As you can see, I'd go further than Bill Bowen's simple three requests. But that's just me.
Now, I would also like to see the WT exposed for their ludicrous "we don't eat blood just most of its various components -- separately" stance, their mistaken prophecies/chronologies, and the devastating consequences of the enforced shunning not only of wrongdoers, but of "those who have simply left the faith".
I, personally, began my exodus when the "generation" teaching I had cut my teeth on as a Witness went out the window and I realized that the Governing Body had no direct pipeline to God at all. It was a shocking realization, let me tell you! False prophets is what they are, deceitful, too, and with dangerous policies. So if they tumbled, that would be nice.
But the silentlambs thing? That's for the (((((((survivors)))))) and a preventative. At least, one can hope.
out
Edited by - outnfree on 26 September 2002 2:59:52
