AUSTRALIA
SBS
Source: AAP
22 JUN 2015
Jehovah’s Witnesses, the sometimes controversial Christian church, is to face public examination by the royal commission into child sexual abuse in institutions.
A public hearing into the church will be held in Sydney starting on July 27, the commission announced on Monday.
The experience of survivors of child sexual abuse within the Jehovah’s Witnesses Church in Australia will be investigated as will its responses and those of its company – the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Australia Ltd – to allegations made against members.
The Witnesses are best known for their door-to-door proselytising as they spread the message of what they believe is the true meaning of the bible. They have sometimes gained publicity for their refusal to accept blood transfusions and have been accused of being a “cult”.
In 2012 the church in the United States was involved in a court case in California which tested its obligation to tell parents of the child-abuse history of a member who molested a nine-year-old girl.
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