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