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Race, women and health · Claim record

Because only men are appointed as elders, and because the organisation teaches that 'Jehovah has assigned the elders to act as judges' with responsibility for removing unrepentant wrongdoers, every judicial decision in a congregation — including one about a sexual offence reported by a woman — is taken by men. The exclusion of women from these decisions therefore follows from published doctrine, not only from local practice.

Claim ID claim-attitudes-judicial-decisions-rest-with-menConcerns February 2021Strong implication
Strong implication · February 2021 Verified

Because only men are appointed as elders, and because the organisation teaches that 'Jehovah has assigned the elders to act as judges' with responsibility for removing unrepentant wrongdoers, every judicial decision in a congregation — including one about a sexual offence reported by a woman — is taken by men. The exclusion of women from these decisions therefore follows from published doctrine, not only from local practice. The Watchtower (study edition), February 2021"Keep Yourselves in God's Love" (book), 2008Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, October 2016

The organisation’s position or later explanation: Governing Body member Geoffrey Jackson told the Australian Royal Commission that decision-making 'is based on the headship principle... that Scripturally the men make the final decisions', while saying that two women close to a victim may take her testimony and convey it to the elders (Case Study 29 report, p. 67). The organisation's current public policy says a victim may be accompanied by 'a confidant of either gender' (par. 12).

Show the evidence (3 sources)
Primary JW publication Verified

The Watchtower (study edition), “Understanding Headship in the Congregation”

February 2021 · pp.14-19 · pars. 7-9, 12-13 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

“It is true, however, that Jehovah has appointed men to take the lead in teaching and worship in the congregation, and he has not given women that same authority. (1 Tim. 2:12) Why? For the same reason that he has appointed Jesus as head of the man—to keep good order in his family. If because of circumstances a sister must fill a role that is normally cared for by a brother, then Jehovah requires that she wear a head covering.”

A study article on headship in the congregation. It first says that Jehovah values women equally, that Jesus honoured them and that Paul commended them, and states that 'there is no Scriptural basis for thinking that sisters are inferior to brothers'. It then gives the rule above, adds that 'Jehovah asks this of sisters, not to demean them, but to give them a way to show respect for the headship principle', and sets out three questions by which a woman decides whether a covering is needed.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. The full article was fetched from the Watchtower Online Library on 19 September 2026 and read. The quoted paragraph 9 falls after the library's page marker for page 16; the sentence about no scriptural basis for inferiority is in paragraph 7, after the marker for page 15; the statement about elders acting as judges is in paragraphs 12-13, after the marker for page 18. The citation line inside the document reads 'w21 February pp. 14-19'.

Corroborated by. src-wom-lv-2008-head-coverings

Notes. The article also states, of the difference between an elder and a family head: 'Jehovah has assigned the elders to act as judges, and he has given them the responsibility of removing unrepentant sinners from the congregation.' Since elders are men only, this is the published basis on which congregational judicial decisions rest with men.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-wom-w-2021-0200-headship-congregation

Primary JW publication Verified

"Keep Yourselves in God's Love" (book), “Appendix: Head Coverings—When and Why?”

2008 · pp.209-212 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

“In the Christian congregation, headship is given to baptized males. . . . Only males are appointed as elders and ministerial servants with the God-given responsibility to care for the flock of God.”

The appendix sets out when a woman must cover her head: when she prays or teaches in her husband's presence, when she prays or teaches in the presence of a baptized minor son, and when she handles a duty in the congregation normally performed by a baptized man. It gives two reasons — that the covering is 'a sign of authority' and that it is worn 'because of the angels'.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. The full appendix was fetched from the Watchtower Online Library on 19 September 2026 and read. The quoted sentences fall under the library’s page marker for page 210. They are consecutive in the appendix: the ellipsis between them stands only for the scripture citation ‘(1 Timothy 2:11-14; Hebrews 13:17)’ printed between them, and no words of the text are omitted. The citation line inside the document reads ‘lv p. 209-p. 211 par. 2’.

Corroborated by. src-wom-w-2002-0715-qfr-head-covering, src-wom-w-2021-0200-headship-congregation

Notes. The appendix also states: ‘the angels may see instances when a Christian woman is more experienced, more knowledgeable, and more intelligent than a baptized male in the congregation; yet, she readily shows her submission to his authority.’ That sentence begins on p. 211 and its closing words fall on p. 212. A footnote on p. 211 adds: ‘A Christian wife would not normally pray aloud in the presence of her believing husband except in unusual circumstances, such as if he has been rendered mute by an illness.’ A 2017 book, How to Remain in God’s Love, replaced this volume and carries an appendix of the same title; that later edition’s page could not be opened in the online library and is not cited here.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-wom-lv-2008-head-coverings

Official public record Verified

Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, “Report of Case Study No. 29: The response of the Jehovah's Witnesses and Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Australia Ltd to allegations of child sexual abuse”

October 2016 · pp.1-110 (ISBN 978-1-925289-89-3) · pp. 10-12, 14, 24-25, 58-70, 75-78 · The Hon. Justice Peter McClellan AM (Chair); Professor Helen Milroy (Commissioner) · Commonwealth of Australia

“Although the position is not clear in relation to a few files, there is otherwise no evidence before the Royal Commission of the Jehovah's Witness organisation having reported to police or other secular authority a single one of the 1,006 alleged perpetrators of child sexual abuse recorded in the case files held by Watchtower Australia.”

P. 60. Other key passages: p. 58 (files since 1950 record allegations against 1,006 members; 579 admissions; at least 1,800 alleged victims); p. 59 ('The numbers tell their own story'); p. 61 ('We are satisfied that it is the general practice of the Jehovah's Witness organisation in Australia not to report allegations of child sexual abuse to the police or other authorities unless required to do so by law'); p. 65 (two-witness rule: 'retention of and continued application of the rule to a complaint of child sexual abuse is wrong'); p. 67 (men-only decision-making is 'a fundamental flaw'); p. 69 ('places children within the organisation at significant risk'); p. 70 (BCG 'completely shunned, ostracised and actively avoided'); p. 77 ('We do not consider the Jehovah's Witness organisation to be an organisation which responds adequately to child sexual abuse').

Official source Scan of original Link not auto-checkable

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. The official Royal Commission host could not be reached from this environment (TLS renegotiation failure / timeouts), so the NZ-hosted copy of the same Commonwealth publication was downloaded and text-extracted; all quotations verbatim with printed page numbers. Tabled in Parliament 28 November 2016.

Scan provenance. Copy of the Commonwealth publication (CC BY 3.0 AU) held in the New Zealand Abuse in Care Royal Commission evidence library; identical ISBN and pagination to the official release.

Corroborated by. src-wt-subs-2015-1109-royal-commission, src-arc-2015-0814-day155-transcript

Notes. Public hearing 27 July-5 August and 14 August 2015, Sydney. Survivors identified only as BCG and BCB. Also on parlinfo.aph.gov.au as a tabled paper.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-arc-2016-1000-cs29-report

Claim page Correct or update

A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-attitudes-judicial-decisions-rest-with-men/. Every source above opens the original document or the best available copy. If you believe the wording, date or context is wrong, report an error.