GERMANY: Abuse Commission focuses on Jehovah’s Witnesses

Berlin – The Independent Commission for the Study of Sexual Abuse of Children is now increasingly focusing on Jehovah’s Witnesses. On Thursday, the commission called on those affected and eye-witnesses to report on their experiences with sexual violence in childhood and adolescence in the religious community. Descriptions of former members suggested that there are “specific conditions in dealing with sexual violence against children and young people, which make the clarification and the processing difficult”.

The federal government set up the investigation commission in 2016 to deal with abuse in various areas of society, such as in the family, at school, in sports or in clubs. The core of the investigations are hearings and reports from those affected and eye-witnesses who are adults today. In this way, structures and conditions are to be uncovered that made such actions possible and advantageous in the past in order to draw lessons for the present and future.