"I am sorry people, you can try and place blame on a religion all you want but if the FUCKING PARENTS of the child who was abused do not go to the police these kids are and will continue to be fucked!! "
pbrow, you make so much sense - no one here would ever contradict you. Please keep in mind that the very worst cases against JW organization occurred some years ago before there was widespread awareness in general communities about the need for parents to swiftly report their children's disclosures to the appropriate authorities (police and child welfare organizations, etc). So, yes, you are correct: Any parent who has this information on hand and who consciously chooses not to go to the appropriate authorities must shoulder responsibility for their inaction. I could not agree more.
That said, what if the abuse happens within the family and - God forbid - the child is abused by a parent? Less than twenty years ago, JW organizations response was to treat lone allegations as not actionable because you needed at least two witnesses.
Moreover, JW organization is known for its close involvement in instructions to heads of households on what to do in specified situations. Look at the lists of instructions on attendance at conventions. Micro-management central! Yet, when it comes to allegations of abuse, only very recently have they verbalized the need for parents/caregivers to report allegations to the police - and only because they have felt the heat of severe criticism for not doing so.
Sometimes it is hard to wrap our heads around the "mentality" that very recently prevailed when child sex abuse allegations arose: JWs would have no hesitation in taking it to elders and like all good JWs, adhere to instructions from the elders in good conscience - and the elders in turn would adhere to instructions from headquarters. No Witness in good standing would have wanted to go beyond the elders' instructions - or even thought at the time they needed to. It is astonishing to realize the level of trust people put in their religious leaders. Yet that is not/was not unique to JW organization.
Hopefully, with the negative publicity arising from investigations such as the Australian Royal Commission there will be a sea change in broader thinking about and responding to allegations of child sexual abuse within JW organization - and it will be the norm for JW parents/caregivers to act swiftly by reporting matters directly to the appropriate authorities, in particular the police.
