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Child safeguarding · Claim record

The organisation's internal Branch Office guidelines state that if the victim or another minor is still in danger, elders 'should report the matter to the secular authorities even if there is not a legal obligation to do so', and its public statement says the branch office 'will instruct the elders to report the matter if the victim or another minor is in danger of abuse'.

Claim ID claim-safeguarding-report-when-minor-in-dangerConcerns 1 December 2021Explicit statement
Explicit statement · 1 December 2021 Verified

The organisation's internal Branch Office guidelines state that if the victim or another minor is still in danger, elders 'should report the matter to the secular authorities even if there is not a legal obligation to do so', and its public statement says the branch office 'will instruct the elders to report the matter if the victim or another minor is in danger of abuse'. Child Sexual Abuse—Guidelines for Branch Office Service Desks, 1 December 2021Jehovah's Witnesses' Scripturally Based Position on Child Protection (cpt-E 9/25), September 2025Jehovah's Witnesses' Scripturally Based Position on Child Protection (cpt-E 12/20), December 2020

Show the evidence (3 sources)
Primary JW publication Verified

Child Sexual Abuse—Guidelines for Branch Office Service Desks, “Child Sexual Abuse—Guidelines for Branch Office Service Desks (Annexure K to CCJW Australasia response to NZ Royal Commission Notice to Produce 1)”

1 December 2021 · pp.1-10 · pars. 1, 5, 6, 8 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania (World Headquarters Legal Department); produced by Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses (Australasia) (doc ID JHV0000013)

“If the victim or another minor is still in danger of abuse, the elders should report the matter to the secular authorities even if there is not a legal obligation to do so.”

Par. 8, which then lists screening questions (does the victim live in the accused's home; other minors in the home; proximity to minors) and says that if any answer is 'Yes' the Service Desk 'will direct that a report be made to the secular authorities'. Par. 1 restricts circulation to Branch Committee members, Service Department and Legal Department and forbids any electronic distribution. Par. 6: the Service Desk 'should assure the caller that he or she is free to report the allegation to the secular authorities'.

Scan of original

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Downloaded and text-extracted the NZ-hosted PDF; quotations verbatim. IICSA (2021) described this document as one of four core policy documents (its 2020 UK equivalent).

Scan provenance. New Zealand Abuse in Care Royal Commission evidence library (public record). The production date is 1 December 2021; the internal document is undated in the extract.

Corroborated by. src-iicsa-2021-0902-religious-organisations-report, src-arc-2017-0310-cs54-day259-transcript

Notes. An earlier version of these guidelines (August 2013) was in evidence at the Australian Royal Commission (Case Study 29 report p. 21, endnote 109).

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-csa-guidelines-2021-1201-branch-service-desks

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 Scan of original

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

Primary JW publication Verified

Jehovah's Witnesses' Scripturally Based Position on Child Protection (cpt-E 12/20), “Jehovah's Witnesses' Scripturally Based Position on Child Protection”

December 2020 · pp.1-3 · pars. 3-5, 9-12 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania; produced to the NZ Royal Commission by Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses (Australasia) (doc ID JHV0000010)

“When elders learn of an accusation of child abuse, they immediately consult with the branch office of Jehovah's Witnesses to ensure compliance with child abuse reporting laws. (Romans 13:1) Even if the elders have no legal duty to report an accusation to the authorities, the branch office of Jehovah's Witnesses will instruct the elders to report the matter if a minor is still in danger of abuse or there is some other valid reason.”

Paragraph 5 of the December 2020 edition, produced to the NZ inquiry. Useful for showing the wording of the policy as it stood in 2020-2021, side by side with the 2025 edition.

Official source Scan of original

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Downloaded and text-extracted the NZ-hosted PDF; quotation verbatim.

Scan provenance. New Zealand Abuse in Care Royal Commission evidence library (public record). Document ID JHV0000010; print code 'cpt-E 12/20'.

Corroborated by. src-cpt-2025-0900-child-protection-position

Notes. The NZ case study that received this document was later declared unlawful for exceeding the inquiry's terms of reference ([2026] NZHC 1295); that ruling concerns the Commission's findings, not the authenticity of documents the organisation itself produced.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-cpt-2020-1200-child-protection-position-nz

Claim page

A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-safeguarding-report-when-minor-in-danger/. 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.