Latest news in The Netherlands press. JW.org doesn't understand that this will blow their image more and more.
Jehovah's want to
stop publication of critical report on abuse
Jehovah's Witnesses The Netherlands wants to prevent the publication of a report on abuse within the community in summary proceedings. On Wednesday the case will be submitted to the court in Utrecht, where Utrecht University has been summoned.
Bas Soetenhorst 21 January 2020, 9:46
This confirms a university spokesperson. The report, to be published on Thursday, has been prepared by researchers from Utrecht University who have charted the seriousness and extent of abuse within the 30,000 members of the religious community. Shortly after the start of the investigation, hundreds of people had reported to a hotline. Research leader and professor Kees van den Bos then spoke of "a large number of serious reports" that seemed to justify the investigation.
The Jehovah's Witnesses were not available for comment on Tuesday morning. The official assignment comes from the Scientific Research and Documentation Center (WODC) of the Ministry of Justice and Security. At the end of 2018, the Lower House called for the investigation.
The investigation must make clear to what extent the closedness within the community contributes to whether or not to report abuse. It has also been investigated how people who report sexual abuse are treated. The case started rolling through an article in the daily newspaper Trouw from the summer of 2017, in which former members talked about sexual abuse and the culture of silence among the Jehovah's.
Cast away
It is the first time that such a large-scale study of culture has been carried out in the Netherlands within the Jehovah community. Reports were treated confidentially and not shared with the Public Prosecution Service, which does investigate multiple abuse cases within Jehovah's witnesses. Last year an ex-Jehovah from Nieuwegein was convicted of abusing his two daughters. He was sentenced to three-quarters of a year in jail after a two-year claim. The man was rejected by the community.
Earlier, the Jehova's board assured witnesses that it would cooperate fully with the investigation. "If things have happened that cannot pass, they must come to the surface," a spokesperson said in the Volkskrant last April. “For us, the safety that a family must offer is paramount. Child abuse does not suit this. And also not covering any abuses. "