This article is well worth reading, especially when you consider how this applies to many religions, Jehovah's Witnesses included:
And this is the story of the survivor:
defender of truth
JoinedPosts by defender of truth
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Could the Independent Inquiry in England and Wales expose jw.org's child abuse failures? And how can we help?
by defender of truth inwith all the talk about the org's policies and failures regarding child sexual abuse being publically exposed in australia, i thought that it may be a good time to highlight this... i apologise if this has already been discussed, but on the 9th of july the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse in england and wales was opened.
here is some information regarding it's aims.. "about the inquiry.
the inquiry offers an unprecedented opportunity to examine the extent to which institutions and organisations in england and wales have taken seriously their responsibility to protect children.. the inquiry will investigate a wide range of institutions including:.
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TheAtlantic.com - Disowning a Daughter Over a Church
by defender of truth ina reader from south carolina has a heartbreaking story:" i am 31 years old.
i was raised in a strict bi-cultural (af-american and nigerian) jehovah’s witness family, one of six children.
though it’s generally looked down upon for jws to attend liberal arts universities (vocational schools are recommended), i somehow convinced my parents to allow me to go to university and major in theater (!!
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defender of truth
In between the responses, the page states:
" To join the dialogue, drop us an email. "
[ the address is: [email protected] ] -
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TheAtlantic.com - Disowning a Daughter Over a Church
by defender of truth ina reader from south carolina has a heartbreaking story:" i am 31 years old.
i was raised in a strict bi-cultural (af-american and nigerian) jehovah’s witness family, one of six children.
though it’s generally looked down upon for jws to attend liberal arts universities (vocational schools are recommended), i somehow convinced my parents to allow me to go to university and major in theater (!!
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defender of truth
A reader from South Carolina has a heartbreaking story:
" I am 31 years old. I was raised in a strict bi-cultural (Af-American and Nigerian) Jehovah’s Witness family, one of six children. Though it’s generally looked down upon for JWs to attend liberal arts universities (vocational schools are recommended), I somehow convinced my parents to allow me to go to university and major in theater (!!).
I was always really devout, but I harbored doubts about the teachings since I was a child. I finally came clean to my family about it at the end of my first year of college when I was 19 years old and told them that I no longer wanted to be a JW.
After heart to hearts with each family member, all five of my siblings and my parents stopped talking to me. I was followed around town by members of the church. My family withdrew financial support.
Though I had plenty exposure to shunning and excommunication, I was naive enough to believe that my family would never do that. I thought if I was honest they would respect my decision and embrace me. Nope. I can’t even begin to describe the depression and loneliness that ensued.
Recovery has been a long process. I’ve been very proactive and I guess I’m fairly resilient. I ended up transferring schools a year after the shunning. I left my hometown in South Carolina and finished my degree at Temple University. I am doing an MA in journalism next fall. I’ve done some research on religious shunning and have interviewed lots of folks from various religious backgrounds who have been shunned. I also co-facilitated a workshop last fall for people who have been shunned or have endured other forms of spiritual abuse. I’m working on an investigative piece about the practice.
Thanks for posing this question about religious choice. I think it’s an important part of making this conversation a part of a larger dialogue, something I think is a major part of my life’s work. "-----------
Update from a Jehovah’s Witness reader:
" I am a Witness, been one for over 30 years. As Witnesses we don’t look down on education, although in light of the last days we are living in, one is wise to focus on what is priority. Ultimately it is one’s decision and is respected.
Also, if this daughter was baptized and then chose not to continue, she is not ostracized. But I would prefer to socialize more with those who serve God. Now if she were practicing wicked and immoral behaviors condemned as willful sin and was disfellowship, then this is from scripture: 1st Corinth 5:9-13. It is a loving provision from God for the person to recapacitate as well, as to keep the congregation clean. It’s not from the church as in a doctrine opted; it is from God’s own word, the ultimate authority. "
www.theatlantic.com/notes/all/2016/03/choosing-your-religion/475164/#note-475824 -
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I would rather be in the JW cult than the ex-jw cult
by questioningmyfaith ini have posted one other time on this website.
just for the mere fact that i wasn't anger and bitter and ready to declare the gb the sociopathic criminals that so many here ascribe to, my initial question digressed to bickering over ad hominem attacks against the gb and not my beliefs that i'm questioning.
some did give me some help on my questions.
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defender of truth
@Questioning my faith:
You do realise that the topic you were referring, where I was one of the ones that was quite rude to you, and I apologise for all that (going through hell at the time, I should not have been posting)... all of that was 7 months ago!
Bloomin' heck.
I thought you were just going to move on from your JW past?..
I have only just popped back in to see if anything caught my eye, after months of relative happiness and relaxation.. and I find someone still harping on about some topic that everyone else has moved on from, forgotten about completely in my case.
You seem to be wasting both your own time, and other people's time.
If you are now living a happy life with no issues, great. Good for you.
Genuinely, that is what we all want, people to leave this cult and just move on.
But why post to tell us that you are not going to post any longer?
If you need support and someone to talk to about all of that pain and anger you are feeling, or maybe you are just lonely and need someone to chat to, this site will welcome you and offer you countless friends if that is what you need.
Here's a hint: If you are still quoting from a conversation that happened 7 months ago...
If you feel the need to announce to a group of people you have only spoken to one time 7 months ago (it'd be impressive if they even remembered yoi really) that you are not going to be talking to them anymore, and you don't want to be a part of their 'group'... there is definitely an issue there. ;) )
Maybe find a meet-up near you?
Not everyone on here is a rabid lunatic with no social skills, like I have been in the past. People change, anyway.
There are loads of normal people having fairly normal conversations about their experiences or how their lives are going.
If you ever need someone to talk to about the pain you are going through, feel free to pop back in sometime.
Or maybe just come back to tell us you are not going to post again. ;) ( I'm only kidding, you know.. You have to laugh or you'd go mad. )
Have a great life. :)
"I am going to use the extra time I have from not being a witness learning a language or maybe even just watching tv."
Sounds like a pretty sweet plan to me. Given a choice between reading anything with the word Watchtower on it and watching Star Trek...
Captain Kirk wins every time. ;)
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Petition: Tell Pope Francis It's Time to End Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church
by defender of truth in4,264 signed of 5,000 goal.
tell pope francis it's time to end sexual violence in the catholic church.
with survivors network of those abused by priests, center for constitutional rights.
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defender of truth
The Catholic church is telling newly appointed bishops that it is “not necessarily” their duty to report accusations of clerical child abuse and that only victims or their families should make the decision to report abuse to police.
A document that spells out how senior clergy members ought to deal with allegations of abuse, which was recently released by the Vatican, emphasised that, though they must be aware of local laws, bishops’ only duty was to address such allegations internally.
...Does any of this sound familiar?
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Petition: Tell Pope Francis It's Time to End Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church
by defender of truth in4,264 signed of 5,000 goal.
tell pope francis it's time to end sexual violence in the catholic church.
with survivors network of those abused by priests, center for constitutional rights.
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defender of truth
4,264 signed of 5,000 goal
Tell Pope Francis It's Time to End Sexual Violence in the Catholic Church
with Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, Center for Constitutional Rights
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Please help by signing and sharing.
The petition can be signed through this page:
www.takepart.com/spotlight/take-action
Full Petition Text
The church has failed to protect hundreds of thousands of children and vulnerable adults from sexual violence in the Catholic Church and institutions and adequately address this ongoing global crisis.
We are asking you to ensure that the church complies with the United Nations recommendations, beginning with the immediate removal of all known and suspected abusers from assignment, increased transparency when dealing with these crimes, and ordering that all cases and reports be turned over to local civil authorities for independent investigation of the perpetrators and those who concealed or otherwise enabled these crimes.
Words are not enough. You must act to bring real, meaningful change to the church and accountability for these crimes.
Sincerely,
[Your name here]
About the action
By some estimates, the number of victims of clergy sexual violence is in the hundreds of thousands and on the rise as more survivors come forward and civil authorities begin investigations in Europe, Latin America, Africa, Australia, and Asia. The Vatican’s own experts have said there are 100,000 cases in the U.S. alone. Sexual violence in the Catholic Church is not a historical crisis but an ongoing problem, as is the lack of accountability.
Today, throughout the world, perpetrator priests who are known to church officials continue to hold posts in congregations, schools, orphanages, and elsewhere, unbeknownst to local communities.
The church has shown over and over that it cannot police itself.
In 2014, the United Nations issued a series of recommendations on what the Vatican must do to fulfill its obligations to human rights treaties and end this epidemic of sexual violence.
Pope Francis has all the authority he needs to move from words to action and stop further abuse.
By signing this petition, you’re standing with SNAP, CCR, and many others to demand that Pope Francis take the following concrete steps to address the violence:
Immediately remove all known and suspected child sexual abusers from assignment, and refer the matter to relevant law enforcement authorities for investigation and prosecution;
Hand over files containing details of cases of sexual violence to civil authorities for investigation and prosecution of abusers as well as those who concealed their crimes and knowingly placed offenders in contact with children, and demand bishops do the same in their local jurisdictions;
Encourage and protect church whistle-blowers who have come forward with information about the crisis of sexual violence. So far church officials have intimidated and retaliated against whistle-blowers.
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BBC Radio 4. 14th February 2016. ''Sunday'' program with article on Witnesses and child abuse.
by ThomasCovenant inthe sunday programme investigates allegations that the jehovah's witness ordered the destruction of documents that could be used during the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse.
was this in contravention of section 21 of the inquiries act 2005 which is punishable by imprisonment?.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0709v34.
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defender of truth
This link goes straight to the JW part.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0709v34#playt=0h33m30s
(easier to send to elders with short attention spans) ;)
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Trey Bundy: One Year of Reporting JW Child Abuse - Your comments please!
by AndersonsInfo inhttp://watchtowerdocuments.org/trey-bundy-one-year-of-reporting-jw-child-abuse/.
trey bundy: one year of reporting jw child abuse.
it’s been one year since trey bundy first reported the watchtower’s child abuse problems.. twelve months ago the center for investigative reporting (cir) began publishing information about jehovah’s witnesses and their cover-up of child sexual abuse on their website, reveal.
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defender of truth
www.revealnews.org/article/jehovahs-witnesses-use-1st-amendment-to-hide-child-sex-abuse-claims/
^^ I have passed on the above article to more people and organisations than I could count.. including the Independent Inquiry in the UK.
Please pass on my most grateful thanks. Without Trey's work, we would have far less hard-hitting and concise articles to share with others.
There is almost too much information out there sometimes, too much to sort through, especially regarding such a complex issue as child abuse.
Trey's articles are invaluable. They could not be improved upon in any way, in my opinion.
Please keep them coming, we need articles that are easy-to-digest and yet accurate.
The public needs your work.. to keep them informed about these issues, but without overwhelming them with tonnes of info they'll never read.
PLEASE keep up your fine work. We all appreciate it greatly.
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Knowledge is power. Information is liberating.
Kofi Annan
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Do you want to take action to support mandatory child abuse reporting? (UK or US mainly)
by defender of truth inthis quote is just for discussion purposes, not my political bias or anything... .
" a 'revolution in attitudes' is needed to safeguard children from sex abusers, according to the shadow home secretary, yvette cooper.in an interview with the independent on sunday, ms cooper said that the problem was wider than the historic cases uncovered through the jimmy savile scandal and the abuse of hundreds of children in rotherham.she said that childrens voices must be heard by organisations which had failed to act in the past, and pledged that a labour government would make the reporting of abuse a legal requirement... we need to introduce mandatory reporting so that no institution can ever be tempted to think that the reputation of the institution matters more than the protection of the child ... there has to be a stronger obligation to report and to act.labour has included mandatory reporting in the partys pre-election manifesto and has also said it will set up a cross-whitehall unit to tackle child protection.
"http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/child-sex-abuse-shadow-home-secretary-calls-for-revolution-in-attitudes-to-safeguard-vulnerable-10077725.html.
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defender of truth
More details here:
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Protest for Mandatory Reporting?
by Luther bertrand inon another thread, i have been having a discussion about protests in connection with watchtower policy.
one of the biggest and more re-occuring rebuttals to protesting at kingdom halls and assemblies is that it does two things: 1. it re-enforces the apostate "mentally diseased" narrative heaped on the xjw community by the gb 2. it causes people to withdraw and get closer to the borg.. what if we as a group took the protest to city halls and government authorities to raise awareness of the need for mandatory reporting laws, rather than protesting @jw events?
hell even geoffry jackson, when he gave his testimony at the arc, agreed that it would be "helpful".
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defender of truth
A group called Mandate Now is already taking action in the UK.
Supporting a group effort, especially one that already has political backing, generally has more of an effect than a few individuals stood around at a protest.
