Why would anyone protect a perpetrator of child abuse? An Amber alert?

Question

I went to this question and was just shocked.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Anb3oxor.3a.tySMcG5rM8Hsy6IX?qid=20070617131304AAegTpz&show=7#profile-info-ter39ASRaa

The 1st answer was thumbs down 11 times just for posting the link to Ambers question. Amber was thumbs down 11 times as well for once again telling the truth.

A woman on this question was thumbs up 11 times for telling Amber to subtract the question, to protect the JW organization...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=At.ruIpGnCTyyy2qhSlqUxTb7BR.?qid=20070617130425AAYBWf6

I, for one do not protect phedophiles. I don't care where it happens. That single individual matters above and beyond the circumstances that put her in harms way.

People, last night were saying that there wasn't much that we can do about it. Being to complacent keeps the perpetrators protected.
Is Amber in your thoughts today? Just say "Aye".

No, this isn't about religion. This is about shining yet another light on the circumstances. Thanks for your responses...

The outlined family mechanism that gef1 spoke of, unfortunately really smacks of a certain amount of truth. From 9 to 16, everyone who knew of what was happening inside of my family dynamic ignored it and felt helpless.

Spacebunny...everything that you say is true as well. Life gets really complicated, and outside of the situation it is really easy to say alot of things. I happen to know that my advice creates complication as well. Only because the family didn't want to accept it when I finally took action.
No authority outside of the family will just sit and assess without action. Expect life to change, but then it already did, didn't it?
The internallzed damage of not being heard is the next step to the tearing down of a person who goes through this as a child.
Yes, that man was quick to act on her behalf. So were others. It now has to be faced by all concerned. I've been there...scary for her....

About keeping the family together...

There are counciling for children and their families that are way more affective than they were in the past. In this case, it not being a family member can be way easier to heal than having that closer connection. As long as the Mom stands up for her daughter (you wouldn't believe the very real connection of feminine power that resides here. Dad can influence a great deal, but to see your mother go to bat for you is so important.....sooooo, sooooo important. Watching a woman's strength at this time does alot to heal this.

shoulds are not necessarily what's going to go down. You forget that in tight knit communities, seeing with a discerning eye can be difficult, acting on it even more so.

Thumbs up and thumbs down may not indicate who is doing it. I didn't say that anyway, that's you following your own thoughts about it. However, the fact that it was encouraged to keep it quiet was suggested through those anonomous indicators irregardless. Don't detract from the gist by saying that this is about JW. This is about how a child can affectively get help. Which is turning into the same issue that it was 30 years ago. Getting through to someone who will believe you.

I haven't forgotten for a moment what humanity is. Internet or otherwise.
It's hard to miss...

Answer 1

Evil is not just bad people acting, it is Good people being indifferent to it.

Answer 2

The right thing to do would be for the JW's to eject the transgressor and allow the justice system to deal with him, thus preserving the trust within the religious framework. But I have found that this almost never happens. I have a friend who suffered abuse inside the church when she and I were teenagers and attended together. I did not know what to do when she told me at the time. She, however, took action and got out of the situation, albeit in a way that complicated her life immeasurably.

It is never easy to know what to do when abuse happens close to you, since the automatic reaction, i.e., tell the police, tell your parents, does not always fix the situation and sometimes it makes it much worse. I have heard horror stories of families torn apart in this way and the one who told wishing he or she had dealt with it differently to keep a family together. I have heard of false charges being accepted by authorities, simply because of their outrageousness, children being torn from their parents because of a justice system that does not wait for proof.

It is easy to say that you don't advocate protecting a child abuser. It is less easy to do the proper thing so as to cause the least amount of harm to the child and the child's family. And you're right; it isn't about religion at all. I'm sure that this is not something that is written into the Jehovah's Witness code as something that is ok to do. It is the corruption of the organization that makes it possible.

The one fellow in amber's question who said that it had already been reported to authorities had better be sure that he knows the facts; the complaint sounds genuine from what I've read, but it should be handled carefullly, so as not to make the situation for amber worse. Your advice to see the school counselor is good. It would be important to take effective, not rash action.

This very problem is one of the major factors that caused me to renounce organized religion, as it seems to be organized with a view to protecting the worst in society under the cloak of sanctity.

Answer 3

If the object of this tempest has been the victim of a crime, she should work with police and prosecutors. Her family should take the lead in providing support and comfort and her congregation can follow the family's lead.

Did a crime occur?

Perhaps the questioner should be reminded that people on the internet do not always behave in an entirely honest manner. Many seem to get a thrill from stoking the fires of religious intolerance and anti-social offensiveness.

There is no way to know who "thumbs-upped" or "thumbs-downed" or posted this answer or that. For that matter, the entire question (and its followup questions) could be part of some elaborate artistic "experiment" orchestrated to prove some point.

For now, this seems to be an appropriate occasion to reiterate Jehovah's Witnesses' position regarding abuse.

Jehovah's Witnesses are disgusted and repulsed by abuse, and are relieved when secular law enforcement officials successfully investigate, prosecute, and punish any criminal who engages in these terrible crimes.

Jehovah's Witnesses fully understand that their role as a religion is in providing comfort to the victim and her family, sharing relevant bible warnings with the congregation and specific potential victims, extolling Christian peaceableness and righteousness, and eventually perhaps in counseling a repentant sinner.

Government workers such as police and prosecutors are generally empowered to pursue criminal matters. Jehovah's Witnesses always work in obedience to secular law and deference to the personal decisions of victims (and their families, where practical). Jehovah's Witness ministers do not investigate criminal matters, leaving such matters to law enforcement authorities.

An unrepentant baptized Jehovah's Witness who is found guilty of a secular crime is likely to be disfellowshipped (or "excommunicated", although Witnesses do not use this latter term). However, a sin against God's supreme authority is clearly a different matter from a sin against secular superior authorities. The standards for criminal conviction and forced religious disassociation will never be identical.


When this matter is used dishonestly as a mere club with which to beat Jehovah's Witnesses, it is a shameful shameful thing. It is a type of "hatred" which should be expected by true Christians in this time of the end, and it actually helps identify Jehovah's Witnesses as Christ's true disciples:

(John 15:19) If you were part of the world, the world would be fond of what is its own. Now because you are no part of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, on this account the world hates you.

(2 Timothy 4:3-5) For there will be a period of time when they will not put up with the healthful teaching, but, in accord with their own desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves to have their ears tickled; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, whereas they will be turned aside to false stories. You, though, keep your senses in all things, suffer evil, do the work of an evangelizer, fully accomplish your ministry.

Learn more:
http://jw-media.org/vnr/2122827332/717263.htm
http://jw-media.org/vnr/2122827332/713173.htm
http://jw-media.org/vnr/2122827332/716353.htm
http://jw-media.org/region/global/english/backgrounders/e_molestation.htm
http://jw-media.org/region/americas/usa/english/releases/educational/usa_e990402a.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/19970101/
http://watchtower.org/e/19850122/
http://watchtower.org/e/19951101a/

Answer 4

Every religion has either some fundies or all fundies but never no fundies and they are the ones doing the covering up because they have blinkers on. Jehovah's Witnessess are all the same, believe the same, act the same and are blind to the same things, you will only see them disfellowshipping child abusers but not exposing them while they are in the religion. But as an example, if I found out one of my brothers abused a child the first thing I would do would be to think defensively and hope that it was all a mistake and I would act that way. These people are just trying to protect their family, but once the whole truth comes out then heaven help the scum that cover it up

Answer 5

Aye. That is tragic but is not uncommon. It has nothing to do with what religion, or any, the perpetrator claims to follow, though.

Answer 6

U r right I would never protect anyone who abused a kid