SWITZERLAND: Abuse: Law of silence among JWs
More on the abuse report recently pubished in Switzerland - see above post
20 Minutes, 5 March 2017
Abuse: Law of silence among Jehovah's Witnesses
A report by the competence center on the Infosekta sects reveals that the religious grouping would have covered cases of sexual assault on minors. What is denied by its leaders.
In 2016, no fewer than twelve young Jehovah's Witness members were followed by the Castagna Zurich help center. Their common thread: they were victims of sexual abuse. This is the observation of a recent report of the information center on the sects Infosekta, relayed Sunday by the "NZZ am Sonntag". "Their statements all go in the same direction," says Regula Schwager, psychotherapist at Castagna. The dependence and confidence of these teenagers are ruthlessly exploited. And he who dares to complain is called a liar."
The religious group, which has some 18,000 members in Switzerland, is known for its rejection of the outside world. The only acknowledged authority is that of God and the only fear of the followers is that of the Last Judgment. Justice has no legitimacy for them and complaints landing before a committee of elders, who apply their own rules. And one of them is particularly problematic: the so-called "double witness". It stipulates that another person, in addition to the victim, must have seen the alleged facts before an action can be taken.
So many are silent. Especially since the victims are rather girls and the authors of the men, often high in the hierarchy of Jehovah's Witnesses, raises the Sunday. And the community weighs all its weight so that the police do not intervene in its affairs. It is only when the government seizes the matter, as has recently been the case in Australia, that the truth is revealed.
"A campaign of denigration"
On the side of the main interested parties, one denounces a campaign of denigration launched by "hostile circles". "At the moment, no legal proceedings have been opened. That says a lot, "says Wolfram Slupina, spokesperson for Jehovah's Witnesses. He insists that abuses of minors are considered crimes also at home and that they are severely repressed.
Finally, he stresses that the "rule of the two witnesses" can be of variable geometry and that the community is open to constructive criticism and constantly improves its internal practices.
READ MORE: http://www.20min.ch/ro/news/suisse/story/Abus--loi-du-silence-chez-les-Temoins-de-Jehovah-16162965
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