‘Jehovah’s Witnesses should no longer remain silent about sexual abuse’

A number of ex-Jehovah's Witnesses have set up a foundation to expose abuse within the religious community. According to the initiators, victims are not heard within the closed community and perpetrators are kept a hand over their heads.

"I think it is important that people go public with their story," says Frank Huiting to RTV Noord. He is one of the founders of the foundation. "I hope my story motivates others to come forward as well."

7 years old

Huiting grew up in the closed community of the Jehovah's Witnesses. When he was 7, the 17-year-old son of the head of the congregation lured him upstairs. While members of the religious community studied the Bible downstairs in the living room, Huiting was abused in his own bedroom. That happened regularly for more than three years.

Years later, when Huiting told his parents what had happened to him, they decided not to press charges. "An elder advised to resolve the matter internally and not to seek outside help. That was also said: you should not report it, it will damage the reputation of the organization. Then there will be headlines in the newspaper and we don't want that."

'Paradise for pedophiles'

According to Huiting, it is exemplary of how the organization deals with abuse. Earlier this year, Trouw published a series of reports about abuse within the Jehovah's Witnesses. Victims speak of a "paradise for pedophiles" because the abuse is resolved internally. Members of the church would protect perpetrators.

That must change, says Huiting, who founded the Reclaimed Voices foundation with other ex-Jehovah's Witnesses. They want victims to speak out and get professional help for them. "An elder should not be a judge, investigator and social worker at the same time. They do not have that expertise in-house. Something has to change within this religious community."

Deetman Commission

The foundation also hopes that the government will take action and start an investigation into sexual abuse within the Jehovah's Witnesses. They refer to the Deetman committee, which investigated sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Church.

"This is a social problem. Children both within and outside the group are at risk of becoming victims of sexual abuse. That is why we call on the government to take measures to protect children."

Wash out

In a response to RTV Noord, a spokesperson for the Jehovah's Witnesses said that they were open to a conversation with the foundation. The spokesperson does not want to comment on the case of Frank Huiting, but does say: "Unfortunately, this kind of excesses occurs in our society, and this story shows that child abuse unfortunately also occurs in us."

According to the spokesperson, it is not known how many cases of sexual abuse there have been within the church. "We don't keep statistics, but it only happens occasionally."