I’m very grateful and invigorated by your coverage of this topic. As a former third generation member of the organization, I experienced CSA from ages four to fourteen. My older cousins, Brandon and Adam, were Pioneers and ministerial servants for about half of the time they were abusing me. By the time I was forced by my elders to confront them, they were elders themselves. They denied abusing me, an obvious twinge of guilt and fear in their faces. Their lie was not convincing and by their body language and facial expressions it was obvious their elders and mine knew this. They could clearly see I was telling the truth and that they were lying. However those elders also knew there was nothing to be done about it but “wait on Jehovah.” I still remember the smelly breath of one elder as he was telling me not to worry too much about it because, “In Jehovah’s Time it’ll all come out in the wash.” Whatever that means. I told my cousins and the elders that if my cousins confessed and apologized, I would forgive them and we would be civil but if they lied, I couldn’t forgive them and they had better not show their faces near where I might be ever again- including their own family events. I couldn’t help but notice fleeting looks of approval from the elders holding this meeting, as well as a haze of rage creeping over the face of my cousins. In the end, they lied, and because of the JW culture and rules, I was told to never talk about it again or I’d be in front of a judicial committee for SLANDER, and they went back to business as usual (one of the many things that triggered my waking up and leaving). A couple of years later I (accidentally) found out Brandon moved to Texas and Adam moved to Montana- apparently I was not supposed to be told but my auntie didn’t know there were shenanigans afoot- she’s genuinely honest and open, and just a talker. On the bright side- neither of them have showed up for any family events, I guess guilt is funny like that. Among other events, our beloved grandmother’s funeral, our coolest uncle’s funeral, and three of the family reunions that have been held since have been greatly improved by their absence. I’ve discovered my story is nearly identical to the stories of so many others, worldwide, that grew up in or around this vile organization and similar cultures. The testimonies in this phenomenal podcast have only highlighted this harrowing observation.
