Heaven: I think I'd be in the loony bin if I were hearing about 3-4 cases per month year after year after year! How can these guys even function knowing of this many?!
For sure. Just think of how many times those elders met and discussed just the two cases we have heard of so far? Just two cases, and the meetings and discussions went on and on. For years. A constant schedule of meetings set up with the accuser to try to get him to confess before they could re-instate him. Did nobody stop to think that those judicial meetings were actually an arena for that sick perverted man to hear all about those details all over again? That a confession would mean that his storytime would come to an end? That the judicial process fed his sick addiction? That he liked to hear all about it again...and if he was lucky, from the mouth of his victim?
Estimating the magnitude of the child abuse cases within the JWs is critical. We can extrapolate numbers from national statistics, but those numbers reflect a greater magnitude of harm when applying them to JW victims and how the predator is treated.
JWs are unique in ways that no other groups are - their judicial system feeds the predators' perversions in and of itself. It perpetuates the abuse, allowing for a greater rate of abuse within the JWs.
freemindfade: i don't know, but sometimes when i see these numbers, and think back to my history in the org how much abuse I heard of, that there is something that connects religion and child abusers.
Estimates of rates of abuse have to take that correlation into consideration and account for it, if possible.
I have been listening to the hearings and scratching my head as to why BCH was so persistent in reapplying for reinstatement over and over again. He had to know full well that repentance (confession) was key to him being approved. So why did he not confess? The only reason I can think of is that he didn't want the judicial meetings to stop. And what happens at those meetings? All those details are talked about. He gets his jollies off just listening to others talk about his crimes.
He denies the crimes. And gets another hearing. A place to re-tell his crimes.
That, I believe, is one of the contributors to expecting the JW numbers for predator rates to be much higher than national average. The "confession" process is flawed at a fundamental level.