Demand IICSA request full child sex abuse data from Jehovah's Witnesses in England & Wales

Demand IICSA request full child sex abuse data from Jehovah's Witnesses in England & Wales

Started
19 October 2020
Petition to
Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in Religious Organisations and Settings England & Wales and 5 others
Petition Closed
This petition had 6,297 supporters

Why this petition matters

Started by Jillian Owens

We respectfully ask that the Independent Investigation into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in England in Wales use its statutory powers to request all held data by the Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses (CCJW) and its associated entities.

CCJW has given IICSA only 67 cases – abuse committed by elders and ministerial servants in a Kingdom Hall between 2009-2019 – but that does not account for all the victims outside of these very narrow criteria.  Anyone with knowledge of Jehovah's Witnesses knows formal judicial procedure applies to all known as 'Publisher', and that worship is carried out beyond the walls of  the Kingdom Hall.

While it still has the power, we ask that IICSA requests full data to help give a voice to the decades of victims and survivors whose child sexual abuse falls outside of these categories, from a religion that fiercely protects its own interests above those of its members.

We ask this also, so that CCJW starts being open and transparent about the number of victims in its congregations and that it understands that this damage should lead to a change in its safeguarding policies to help better protect current and future victims.

Here is an open letter with more information about the reasons behind this petition: https://avoidjw.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Open-letter-to-IICSA-19-10-2020.pdf

Signatures welcomed from all, including those who were never Jehovah's Witnesses but who understand the importance of obtaining full information in relation to serious crimes.

Petition Closed

This petition had 6,297 supporters

Share this petition

Share this petition in person or use the QR code for your own material.Download QR Code

Decision-Makers

  • Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in Religious Organisations and Settings England & Wales
  • Professor Alexis Jay OBE
  • Ivor Frank
  • Professor Sir Malcolm Evans KCMG OBE
  • Drusilla Sharpling CBE