Jehovah's Witnesses to appear before sex abuse royal commission

Sydney Morning Herald/June 22, 2015

By Rachel Browne

The child sex abuse royal commission will hold a public hearing into controversial Christian group the Jehovah's Witnesses, next month.

The inquiry, to be held in Sydney, will hear from people who were allegedly sexually abused within the Jehovah's Witnesses Church in Australia.

It will examine how the Jehovah's Witnesses Church and its company, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Australia, responded to claims of child sexual abuse within the organisation.

A Victorian inquiry into how churches handle child sex abuse claims has previously taken submissions from former Jehovah's Witnesses who alleged instances of paedophilia, sexual assault, blackmail and death threats.

The organisation has 64,000 active "disciples" in Australia but has also been described as a cult.

Jehovah's Witnesses believe their church is the one true religion and all others are wrong. They are among a number of religious groups which have been examined by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse including the Catholics, Anglicans, Australian Christian Churches and the Salvation Army.

The Jehovah's Witnesses Australian headquarters has been contacted for comment about the inquiry which is scheduled to begin on July 27.

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