Ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses can’t forget premarital sex hearings
Asahi Shimbun, Japan/December 4, 2023
By Amane Shimazak
Former Jehovah’s Witnesses said they are still troubled by intrusive questions about their sexual experiences they were asked as a teenager by leaders of the religious organization.
At the international Christian denomination, regional leaders, called elders, grill followers at a judicial committee when they are suspected of breaking rules, such as a ban on premarital sex.
Forty-two current and former followers said they had been forced to speak about sexual experiences before a committee hearing, according to a survey by a group of former second-generation followers, called “JW child abuse damage archive.”
More than 60 percent of those respondents said they still feel uncomfortable in their lives because of what transpired at the hearings.
A former second-generation follower in her 40s said she was asked about her relationship with her boyfriend at a judicial committee hearing when she was 18.
During the hearing that lasted for two hours, she was asked how many times she had sex and the times and the dates of the sexual acts.
Questions touched on such details as how many minutes he penetrated her and whether she experienced pleasure.
The woman said she was disgusted and even sickened as she watched elders listening and taking notes.
“While I knew it was strange, I also blamed myself somehow,” she said. “I want to emphasize that such a bizarre thing should never happen.”
A 33-year-old former second-generation follower said his mother found he was dating a non-believer when he was 16 and told him to go to a committee hearing.
In a room in an assembly hall, four elders asked him what type of person he was dating and when and where he had sexual intercourse, among other questions.
He was embarrassed and thought it was strange to be made to talk about such things in public. But the atmosphere did not allow him to protest.
“It was just abnormal even if it is for religious purposes,” the man said.
In response to the allegations, the Jehovah’s Witnesses told The Asahi Shimbun, “There are no specific procedures to confirm (what followers did at the judicial committee) and we do not force them to speak about their sexual experiences.”
The JW child abuse damage archive group released the results of its survey of current and former followers about sexual abuse and harassment within the organization on Nov. 28.
It received 159 valid responses.
Thirty-seven respondents said they had been sexually abused by followers. Thirty-five of those were minors at the time.
A current Jehovah's Witness in his 40s who serves as an elder attended the group’s news conference in Tokyo.
“The organization’s own rules have helped create an environment in which sexual abuse can easily occur and also raise the hurdle for victims to speak out,” he said in an interview.
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