Abused Jehovah’s Witnesses do not feel heard

Victims of abuse within the Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the board of the denomination does not take them seriously. In an open letter they write that they have still not been invited, even though the board had already promised in November to enter into discussions with them.

The number of abuse reports to the Reclaimed Voices foundation has now risen to 276. The reporting point was founded last year by victims who felt not taken seriously.

Out of the way

"We get the impression that you are avoiding contact with us," the victims write. "This has a major effect on the victims who finally dared to go public with their story," says Frank Huiting of the foundation. He himself was abused by a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses in his youth. Last summer he told his story, first anonymously in Trouw, later he told about it without omitting his name.

Jehovah's Witnesses have their own legal system that handles cases such as sexual abuse. According to the victims, this makes the threshold for reporting abuse higher, because these procedures are not public and it is therefore impossible to check whether perpetrators are being held over their heads.

Response within two weeks

The foundation wants the board to respond to the call within two weeks.

Minister Dekker for Legal Protection has called on victims within the Jehovah's Witnesses to go to the police. He also instructed the board to talk to the victims who reported to the reporting center.