BY KARIN KANEKO
STAFF WRITER
Nov 28, 2023
A group of children of Jehovah’s Witnesses submitted a report detailing sexual abuse within the religious organization to the Children and Families Agency on Tuesday and demanded that action be taken.
Based on a survey conducted on social media by the JW Child Abuse Damage Archive, the report said that the most common perpetrators of sexual abuse were “rank-and-file witnesses” and “elders,” with 35 respondents, who were minors when they were subject to abuse, saying that they believed they had been sexually abused by those in the organization.
“During a fellowship (the practice of socializing over a meal or tea) in our home, a witness came into my room, leaving us alone, pushed me onto the bed and almost had sexual intercourse with me,” one respondent said.
Such incidents mostly occurred at the victims’ homes and assembly halls, or Kingdom Halls, which are a place of worship for Jehovah’s Witnesses. More than 90% of the abuse was carried out by members of the same congregation that met regularly.
In addition, 42 respondents, including 15 minors, were also forced to tell elders in a judicial committee — which investigates a witnesses’ alleged sin — about their sexual experiences and felt that talking about such thingswas a form of sexual abuse, with more than 60% saying that they were still struggling to cope with the experience.
Among other findings, 139 respondents said that they were exposed to inappropriate sexual expressions such as “anal sex,” “bestiality” and “oral sex,” among many others. Some 137 respondents said that they were minors when they were first exposed to such terms, with 35% of the respondents saying they were under the age of 6 and more than 80% saying they were under the age of 12.
According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, “showing or orally conveying materials containing sexually explicit content that is inappropriate for the individual’s age under the guise of education” and “forcing someone to talk to religious organization staff about personal experiences related to their sexuality” is considered sexual abuse.
JW Child Abuse Damage Archive conducted the monthlong survey in July by soliciting responses on the social media platform X, with two child psychologists overseeing the results. It received 159 valid answers.
Following the survey, 11 people were interviewed both online and in-personbetween the end of the survey and Oct. 18.
During a news conference on Tuesday, the founder of the group, who chose to use the pseudonym Michiko, said that the survey was created because few sexual abuse reports are made within the country.
“But at the same time, there are numerous brave individuals who share their experiences of sexual harassment within Jehovah’s Witnesses on social media. I, myself, am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse within the Jehovah’s Witnesses,” she added.
A second-generation Jehovah’s Witnesses elder, who goes by the pseudonym Yuuki, said that management within the religious organization has been lax in handling reports of sexual abuse and that the organization chose to “focus on maintaining their reputation and avoiding legal responsibility.”
“Within the organization’s handling of internal issues, there was a rule not to address problems unless there were two or more witnesses, which often led to the neglect of cases of sexual abuse against children occurring in an environment without third-party oversight,” Yuuki said.
“In Japan, there is an obligation to report child abuse to child consultation centers, but rather than the elders deciding to make a report, the procedure is to first call the Japan branch for guidance. This raises questions about the organization’s intent,” he added.
Children of Jehovah’s Witnesses submit report detailing sexual abuse – The Japan Times