NETHERLANDS: Judge says Raids on Jehovah’s Witnesses were lawful
The raid by justice in 2018 of church buildings and elders’ homes of the Jehovah’s Witnesses were lawful and necessary for the police investigation. The court in Zwolle ruled that on Friday. Originally published in Dutch in De Telegraaf on 8 May 2020 In the context of an investigation into alleged sexual abuse among the […]
NETHERLANDS: Elders of Jehovah’s Witnesses cannot invoke the right of non-disclosure in sexual abuse case
Elders of Jehovah’s Witnesses from the Northern Netherlands cannot invoke their right of non-disclosure as clergy in the criminal investigation of sexual abuse by a Jehovah’s member from Assen. That was determined by the court in Zwolle on Friday. Originally published in Dutch by Danielle Molenaar on Dagblad van het Noorden on May 8, 2020 […]
NETHERLANDS: No right of nondisclosure for Jehovah’s Witness elders
There is no right of nondisclosure for elders of the Jehovah’s Witnesses who are members of a judicial committee of that community. They are not spiritual counselors during those sessions. This is the opinion of the court in Overijssel, Netherlands, in their case ruling in which the Jehovah’s Witnesses and five elders objected to the […]
How Jehovah’s Witnesses’ approach to abuse in other countries did improve
The Netherlands is not the first country where the government delves into the abuse policy of Jehovah’s Witnesses. We take a look across the border to see how other countries are tackling the problem with the religious community. Article originally published in Dutch on Trouw by Marinde van der Breggen In the Netherlands it was […]
NETHERLANDS Jehovah’s Witnesses will abide by legal obligation to report sexual abuse”
Originally written by Daniëlle Molenaar and published by Dagblad van het Noorden. The board of Jehovah’s Witnesses will abide by a legal obligation to report child sexual abuse. That is what board member Michael van Ling said in an interview at the national head office in Emmen, the Netherlands. Van Ling looks back on a stormy […]
Victims rate the handling of abuse cases by Jehovah’s Witnesses
Photo – religionnews.com – March 2022 The way Jehovah’s Witnesses deal with child sexual abuse is traumatic for victims. Researchers at Utrecht University conclude this on the basis of 751 stories from members and ex-members of the religious organization. An attempt to keep that investigation out of the open ended in court on Thursday afternoon. […]
Abused Jehovah’s Witnesses judge harshly about internal handling
Originally published in Dutch by NOS nieuws on January 23, 2020. Members of Jehovah’s Witnesses who have experienced sexual abuse within the religious community usually do not report it to the police and are predominantly negative about the internal handling of the abuse. This is evident from a study by Utrecht University into the willingness of […]
Jehovah’s Witnesses want to prevent publication of abuse report
Photo – religionnews.com – March 2022 Originally published in Dutch by NOS nieuws on January 21, 2020. The Dutch branch of the Jehovah’s Witnesses wants to use summary proceedings to prevent publication of a report on abuse within the community, write Het Parool and Dagblad van het Noorden. Utrecht University, to which the authors of […]
NETHERLANDS: Jehovah’s Witnesses stop collecting personal data during house visits
Originally posted in Dutch on RTL Nieuws by Koen de Regt Jehovah’s Witnesses in The Netherlands have stopped collecting data regarding residents where they call at their homes. This is according to an internal letter that is in the hands of RTL News. Until last week, as much data as possible was recorded and saved […]