1 of 6 A short, appalling view on how Jehovah‘s Witnesses view the role of a victim of sexual violence victim blaming the practice of blaming someone who is a victim of crime for behaving in an unsafe way, rather than focusing on the perpetrator of the crime - Macmillan Dictionary „If a Christian woman does not cry out and does not put forth every effort to flee, she would be viewed as consenting to the violation . [...] If she should submit to the man’s passionate wishes, she would not only be consenting to fornication or adultery , but be plagued by the shame .“ - The Watchtower, January 15, 1964, pp. 63-64 2 of 6 “Oh well, that quote is way back from the 60ies” you may say. But the truth is: JWs have never said what they wrote back than is wrong and should be corrected. In fact, while in The Watchtower of February 2003 p. 31 there is a seemingly more empathetic approach towards victims, it is still emphasized that a victim must be 3 of 6 sure to do everything possible to „ actively resist “ the sexual offender. The most important thing for JWs up to this day is: Did the victim keep her “clean” standing? Quote: „Even in the sad case where a woman is overpowered and raped, her struggle and screaming for help is not in vain. On the contrary, it establishes that she did all she possibly could to resist her attacker. 4 of 6 (Deuteronomy 22:26) Despite going through this ordeal, she can still have an undefiled conscience, self- respect, and the assurance that she is clean in God’s eyes .“ S o, basically the same as the edition of 1964 said: Only when she did everything she could to resist the rapist - actively - could she have an „undefiled conscience“. Ergo: If not she’s to blame! 5 of 6 Ask yourself: Are the JWs a community where I would feel safe as a woman? Is this an environment where I want to raise up my children? 6 of 6