Why do you feel that Watchtower is responsible for that person's actions against the child?
My two cents (Ok, maybe like a $1.50). According to the law, when a person becomes a JW and agrees to abide their rules, both the WT and the person enter what is legally called a fiduciary relationship. When that's the case, the WT is then bound to the full extent of the law in terms of reporting to the authorities every single instance when a person, not only children, when there's any incident that as required by law, causes any harm and may result in the prosecution of a person who has violated a the law. The WT has stated specific policies and actions that they are supposed to take when sexual abuse of a minor has occurred by anyone, that is, an elder or not an elder, by any other JW, or by anyone outside their JW realm. Yes, that includes if a child mentions that (s)he has been sexually abused by a non JW person too.
Because of that, the WT is 100% liable for not abiding the law and have its policies trump prosecution of people who have committed the crime of sexual abuse. Furthermore, they can't care less about having registered sex offenders in congregations in complete contact with children, and going house to house preaching.
Additionally, the WT's rules are that the child has to come to a JC, state his case and bring witnesses to the alleged abuse (can you imagine a 5 year old doing that? Ok, make it a 10 year old, even a 17 year old, could you see any of them going through such even more traumatic process after being sexually assaulted or molested?).
The WT is liable because (a) they have their own policy and process that flat out violates the law, (b) they do not enforce current existing laws to protect children from sexual predators, and (c) they violate the law when they do not report the incident of sexual abuse of a minor to the authorities, claiming that they are not part of the world.
But doesn't that require a child to be abused and to be hurt along with years of litigation and then mental health support. Why is it that more and more people here aren't encouraging each other to try and work with your state or national legislatures to get laws changed for everyone to to be mandatory reports of child abuse? This would be something that actually helps future victims.
I'm not completely sure of what you're asking here.
First: currently there are plenty of laws that protect children. Every state has specific laws and there are plenty of federal laws that protect all kinds of harm that the children may be. There's no need to create more laws.
Second: not sure where you get that we are more interested in attacking the WT, or that we have no interest in legislation and law. Since the laws already exist, we hold the WT responsible for their disgusting position about child abuse, and for the lack of care for children. Don't expect people to be nice about it if we know that they protect pedophiles and have to be sued for them to admit that they are doing that.
Third: Covering for pedophiles is not the only immoral act that the WT commits against children. I for once can tell you that I grew up going to the KH hearing about fornication, orgies, adultery, bestiality, Babylon the Great having sex with a dragon, beheadings, genocide, rape, slavery, incestuous relationships, children getting killed, children getting sold into slavery, children getting murdered for making fun of a person's lack of hair, etc. You know very well that all kinds of subjects are openly talked about in KHs with children present. JW kids get exposed to all kinds of violent events, sexually inappropriate subjects and all kinds of things that are not suitable for them. That happens every week in every KH. The WT shows no regard for children at all. If that doesn't give you a clue about the WT not caring about the well being of children, I don't know what does.
Fourth: What do you think that the events and cases that are currently being seen in court are doing? They are holding them responsible.
Fifth: It is extremely naive to expect that written laws are going to stop pedophiles and child abusers from causing harm to children. It's not a matter of laws or legislation. JWs have to stop blindly accepting anything and everything that the WT tells them; that's the bottom line. You cannot legislate attitude, you cannot legislate indoctrination, you cannot legislate brainwashing and blind devotion. It really boils down to parents blindly trusting that the WT is acting in their best interest when they are not. There's no law that can enforce people to act appropriately. proof of that is that those laws actually exist and people, including the WT, just don't follow them.
I almost forgot the most important part. I possess transcripts of many lawsuits brought against the WT for the issue of sexual abuse of minors and other violations of the law. Please PM me if you are interested in a copy.
