The Jehovah's Witness policy on reporting child abuse

Once can certainly find many faults in the JW response to child abuse, but at least, unlike The Family, they claim to make an effort to comply with mandatory reporting laws.

In a May 2002 newspaper article, Hohn Chadwick wrote:

"Because New Jersey requires any citizen to report child abuse to the police, the elders in the Pandelo case said they had to call the authorities. But critics as well as church leaders say that's not necessarily the case with every allegation, especially in states with no mandatory reporting laws.Church officials say they decide on a case-by-case basis how to handle accusations. David Semonian, a spokesman at church headquarters, said congregation elders must consult with legal advisers at Jehovah's Witnesses' headquarters when faced with an accusation of child abuse.

"If the law requires [reporting], then that's automatic, and we would never try to discourage someone,'' Semonian said. "But a person may decide themselves that they do not want to report it. And we would not force them to do so.'' "

• A battle rises within Jehovah's Witnesses