The current elders' handbook instructs that when elders learn of an accusation of child abuse, 'two elders should immediately call the Legal Department for legal advice' to ensure compliance with reporting laws, in all listed circumstances including where 'the alleged abuse is based on the testimony of only one witness'; the caller is then transferred to the Service Department.

Claim ID claim-safeguarding-call-legal-department-firstConcerns April 2021Explicit statement

Explicit statement · April 2021 Verified

The current elders' handbook instructs that when elders learn of an accusation of child abuse, 'two elders should immediately call the Legal Department for legal advice' to ensure compliance with reporting laws, in all listed circumstances including where 'the alleged abuse is based on the testimony of only one witness'; the caller is then transferred to the Service Department. Source: "Shepherd the Flock of God"—1 Peter 5:2, elders' handbook, April 2021 revision (chapters 12, 14, 16, 22), April 2021 Source: Jehovah's Witnesses' Scripturally Based Position on Child Protection (cpt-E 9/25), September 2025 Source: Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), 2 September 2021

The organisation’s position or later explanation: The organisation explains that the Service Department does not itself report because 'elders have the first-hand information'; IICSA suggested branch-level referral would 'ensure that a report has been made' ( Part E para 6.4).

Show the evidence (3 sources)

Primary JW publication Verified

"Shepherd the Flock of God"—1 Peter 5:2, elders' handbook, April 2021 revision (chapters 12, 14, 16, 22), “Chapter 12 'Determining Whether a Judicial Committee Should Be Formed' par. 40; Chapter 14 'Child Abuse' pars. 4-8”

April 2021 · ch. 12 par. 40(2); ch. 14 pars. 4, 6, 7 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania; produced by Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses (Australasia) in response to NZ Royal Commission Notice to Produce 1 (doc ID JHV0000012)

“Eyewitnesses: There must be two or three eyewitnesses, not just people repeating hearsay; no action can be taken if there is only one witness. (Deut. 19:15-17; John 8:17; 1 Tim. 5:19, 24, 25) If there are two or three witnesses to the same kind of wrongdoing but each one is witness to a separate incident, the elders can consider their testimony.”

Ch. 12 par. 40(2), under 'Evidence Establishing Wrongdoing'. Ch. 14 par. 7: 'To ensure that elders comply with child-abuse reporting laws, two elders should immediately call the Legal Department for legal advice when the elders learn of an accusation of child abuse', with ten listed situations in which the call must still be made, including where 'the alleged abuse is based on the testimony of only one witness'. Ch. 14 par. 4 says the victim or anyone reporting 'should be clearly informed that they have the right to report the matter to the secular authorities. Elders do not criticize anyone who chooses to make such a report'.

Scan of original (opens in new tab)

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Downloaded and text-extracted the NZ-hosted PDF; quotations verbatim. The October 2021 and April 2022 full editions (also in the NZ library, EXT9990227 and EXT9990228) contain the same chapter 14 structure; the 2019 first edition and the 2023 edition were not opened.

Scan provenance. New Zealand Abuse in Care Royal Commission evidence library (public record); 35 pages.

Corroborated by. src-ks-2021-1000-shepherd-flock-full-editions, src-iicsa-2021-0902-religious-organisations-report

Notes. The brief asked for 'ks19 ch.14: always call the branch office Legal Department first' — confirmed in this April 2021 text as ch. 14 par. 7 ('immediately call the Legal Department').

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-ks-2021-0400-shepherd-flock-ch12-ch14

Primary JW publication Verified

Jehovah's Witnesses' Scripturally Based Position on Child Protection (cpt-E 9/25), “Jehovah's Witnesses' Scripturally Based Position on Child Protection”

September 2025 · pp.1-2 · pars. 3-5, 11-15 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania (jw.org)

“Elders comply with child abuse reporting laws. When elders learn of an allegation of child abuse, they immediately consult with the branch office of Jehovah's Witnesses for legal advice on proper reporting procedure and for the protection of children. (Romans 13:1) Even in jurisdictions with no reporting requirements, the branch office of Jehovah's Witnesses will instruct the elders to report the matter if the victim or another minor is in danger of abuse.”

Paragraph 5 of the organisation's current public child-protection statement. Par. 3 says elders 'do not shield any perpetrator of child abuse from the authorities'; par. 4 that anyone reporting to elders is told they are free to report to the authorities; par. 11 describes the internal investigation as 'a purely religious proceeding'; par. 12 says elders 'never require victims of child abuse to present their accusation in the presence of the alleged abuser'; par. 14 says an abuser does not qualify for privileges 'for decades, if ever'; par. 15 says the document is reviewed at least every three years.

Official source (opens in new tab) Scan of original (opens in new tab)

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Opened the jw.org landing page and downloaded the official PDF (cpt_E.pdf, 176,911 bytes, dated 2025-11-19 in the CDN metadata but bearing the print code 9/25). Text extracted locally and quoted verbatim. Note the document does not use the phrase 'two witnesses' at all.

Scan provenance. Official PDF served by jw.org's own CDN (resolved via the page's GETPUBMEDIALINKS API, pub=cpt); document code 'cpt-E 9/25'.

Corroborated by. src-cpt-2020-1200-child-protection-position-nz, src-w-2019-0500-love-justice-wickedness

Notes. IICSA recorded the first edition as published 2018. The NZ Royal Commission copy is the 12/20 edition; wording of par. 5 changed between 12/20 and 9/25 (see the NZ entry).

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-cpt-2025-0900-child-protection-position

Official public record Verified

Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), “Child protection in religious organisations and settings: Investigation Report”

2 September 2021 · pp.Part B para 15.4 (p. 15); Part D paras 19-21 (pp. 42-43); Part E paras 6.3-7 (pp. 65-66); Part F para 17 (pp. 91-92); Part H para 25 (p. 113) · Part H.1 para 25 · Professor Alexis Jay OBE (Chair) and Panel · Crown copyright (HC 705)

“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'.

Official source (opens in new tab) Scan of original (opens in new tab)

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. gov.uk PDF downloaded and text-extracted; all quotations verbatim with printed page numbers. iicsa.org.uk HTML pages returned 403 to automated fetch.

Scan provenance. gov.uk copy of the report (224-page PDF). Printed page numbers are 14 lower than PDF page numbers.

Corroborated by. 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.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-iicsa-2021-0902-religious-organisations-report

Claim page

A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-safeguarding-call-legal-department-first/. 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.

The claim and its evidence

"Shepherd the Flock of God"—1 Peter 5:2, elders' handbook, April 2021 revision (chapters 12, 14, 16, 22), “Chapter 12 'Determining Whether a Judicial Committee Should Be Formed' par. 40; Chapter 14 'Child Abuse' pars. 4-8”

Jehovah's Witnesses' Scripturally Based Position on Child Protection (cpt-E 9/25), “Jehovah's Witnesses' Scripturally Based Position on Child Protection”

Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), “Child protection in religious organisations and settings: Investigation Report”