Child sexual abuse inquiry considers Jehovah's Witnesses UK investigation

The national public inquiry into child sexual abuse is considering whether to conduct a separate investigation into The Jehovah’s Witnesses UK after it received a large number of reports about the organisation.

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) is currently looking at the extent to which institutions in England and Wales failed to protect children from sexual abuse.

It is examining institutional failures in the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches but has yet to do anything specific on other religious organisations.

An IICSA spokesperson said that while it was currently delivering its existing programme, the panel would “consider calls for a Jehovah’s Witnesses-specific investigation carefully” as work progressed.

IICSA would not say how many reports it had received about the Jehovah’s Witnesses but said there were a “considerable number”. It noted that both members of the public and MPs had raised their concerns, but would not say which politicians had spoken to them.

One solicitor representing abuse victims said she believed there were thousands of complaints of abuse in the UK.

As with other other religious groups facing IICSA scrutiny, there are claims from victims’ representatives and campaigners that practices within the Jehovah’s Witnesses UK organisation compromised child safety. Alleged child abuse victims within the faith had been told not to report it to the police, numerous sources said. And one solicitor said that in order for alleged victims to take allegations of sexual abuse further they had to have two witnesses.


Source: theguardian