Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), “Child protection in religious organisations and settings: Investigation Report”
“The rule is not intended to be a safeguarding measure. Nevertheless, it has no place in any response to child sexual abuse and fails to reflect the reality that by its very nature child sexual abuse is most often perpetrated in the absence of witnesses. ... As it presently operates, the Jehovah's Witnesses internal disciplinary process for disfellowshipping members bears no relationship to how sexual crime happens. The continuing use of this rule shows a disregard of the seriousness of the crimes involved and their impact on individuals. It also lacks compassion for the victim, and serves to protect the perpetrator.”
Part H.1 Conclusions, para 25 (p. 113). Part B para 15.4: over 131,700 members in England and Wales; records showed allegations concerning 67 individuals reported to the Branch Office in the previous ten years, including 25 against elders and 32 against ministerial servants. Part D para 19 lists the four core policy documents (2018 public statement; Watchtower May 2019; Shepherd the Flock of God; Guidelines for Branch Office Service Desks) and notes that the two documents that explain how to refer matters to statutory authorities 'are not circulated to members of the congregation'. Part E para 6.4: the Service Department 'does not make reports to the statutory authorities'. Part E para 7: Lancashire County Council v E & F [2020] EWHC 182 (Fam) — elders told in 2016, police not informed until July 2019; Lieven J spoke of 'very great concern about the safeguarding of children within the Jehovah's Witness community'. Part F para 17: the Charity Commission's Harvey Grenville called the level of legal challenge 'simply unprecedented'.
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Hinweis zu Herkunft und Überprüfung for Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), Child protection in religious organisations and settings: Investigation Report
Hinweis zur Vertrauensangabe. gov.uk PDF downloaded and text-extracted; all quotations verbatim with printed page numbers. iicsa.org.uk HTML pages returned 403 to automated fetch.
Herkunft des Scans. gov.uk copy of the report (224-page PDF). Printed page numbers are 14 lower than PDF page numbers.
Untermauert durch. src-cc-2023-0804-watch-tower-inquiry-report
Notes. Published 2 September 2021 after 16 hearing days in 2020. IICSA made two recommendations (policy/training; unregistered educational settings); neither is JW-specific.
Abgerufen. 19. September 2026 · Quellenkennung. src-iicsa-2021-0902-religious-organisations-report