@jamiebowers: If you were to read everything on the site.. you'd see that elders are required to report even alleged abuse if it's mandatory under the law to do so.. or even if not legally required to in some circumstances. Otherwise the victim can go to the authorities themselves, which is best if they are adults, or elders can accompany children to report to the police if necessary. If you think that all allegations should be reported, whether the victim wants it to be or not, okay. But consider the possibility that..telling elders that they HAVE TO report every allegation of anything that falls under the local laws definition of child abuse...regardless of the circumstances of the case or the wishes of the victim and their families.. Might be unbalanced? http://thirdwitness.com/childabuse/Mandatory.html
I know the elders are required to report it IF required by law. First of all, why the "if"? Why not do it in all states? Second, there are many reports from elders that say the Watch Tower instructs them to call from pay phones and give as little information as possible. Why is that? And don't give me that "the victims can go to the authorities themselves". There are news reports from all over the world where victims have said that elders discouraged and even threatened them about going to the police. If the Watch Tower didn't have anything to hide, there wouldn't be a question of reporting or not reporting. Even if the victim or family doesn't want it reported, the humble thing to do is to report it anyway. This is what teachers, counselors, etc., are required to do. Child molestation accusations are best put in the hands of experts in law enforcement and social work and not left in the hands of untrained elders under the delusional, deceptive direction of the Watch Tower.