Submission on behalf of UK children who are coerced into forced child labour by the Jehovah’s Witnesses. This submission has been adapted this report from my recent Australian submission to the Inquiry into Modern Slavery Act 2018 and Associated Matters, and it advises the UK government on concerns within the Jehovah’s Witnesses community, building on those raised in the UK Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) and the Charity Commission for England and Wales.
These child abuse and human rights topics have been regularly highlighted within the media, in relation to the religion of Jehovah’s Witness Church, its administrative management corporation, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain, the International Bible Students Association (IBSA), their controlling parent organisation Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Inc., and the governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The primary concern for this Inquiry, are allegations that the leaders of Jehovah’s Witnesses actively commit modern slavery via coercion of up to 3.3 million children globally, including estimates of 52,166 in Britain, through seven main types of labour:
1. Babysitting,
2. Construction and labouring,
3. Cleaning,
4. Food preparation,
5. Gardening,
6. Selling literature, and
7. Recruitment of new members