‘Shocking failures’ in child protection in religious institutions, report finds

Religious institutions are failing to protect children from abuse, according to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

Their report into religious organisations found “shocking failures” in child protection.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses, which have nearly 132,000 members in England and Wales, told the inquiry allegations about 67 individuals had been reported to their branch office in a decade. We spoke to two former members of the group who were abused as children.

We put the allegations made in our report to the Jehovah’s Witnesses. They told us the protection of children “is of the utmost concern and importance to all Jehovah’s Witnesses” and promised to “carefully and respectfully consider” all the recommendations made by the inquiry.

Warning: this report contains detail you may find distressing. And if you’ve been affected by any of the issues raised in that report, you can go to channel4.com/support for help and advice.