Srecko Sostar

If one elder see himself as,not feel he can do so, or not capable, or not fit to catch himself with issue, or not with same thoughts as Company - then would be honestly from him to step away from such position.
Also, elders are not ordinary members of church.
And on - "but anyone else can". No they can not because "anyone else" have not "privileged informations". 

haha, so G.J. want to watering, dilute God's s word with secular laws. He want "mandatory laws" and by that have "justification" to put some "scriptural factors" down ???!!! 

Last sentence would comment.
Bible revealed "mandatory reporting" on its pages. And WT GB very clearly explaining that to its members, to all JW around the World. Anna, you for sure know many bible verses about that and how WT publications interpretations on such issue must be, have be practiced, enforced in all JW congregations.
So, as i see things, G. Jackson just looking for excuses in front ARC.  Here is what was also been said in ARC:
"Mr Geoffrey Jackson agreed that all policies of the JehovahÂ’s Witness organisation are subject to scriptural principles and that the Governing Body approves all policies to ensure that they are in keeping with the Scriptures.96
Branch offices around the world, including the Australia Branch Office,99 may write articles for the Awake! and The Watchtower publications, but the articles must be submitted to the Governing BodyÂ’s Writing Committee for approval.100
Mr Jackson and Mr Toole told the Royal Commission that Branch Offices may adjust policy letters issued by the Governing Body to reflect the requirements of local laws.101 Mr Jackson said that it would be unusual for a Branch Office to publish its own manual or guidelines on responding to allegations of child sexual abuse.102 From at least the 1990s, under the direction of the Governing Body,103 the Australia Branch Office has periodically issued directives in the form of letters addressed to all bodies of elders providing instruction on how to respond to allegations of child sexual abuse.104"
Current policy on child sexual abuse
Mr Spinks told the Royal Commission that the current polices of the JehovahÂ’s Witness organisation for dealing with an allegation of child sexual abuse are outlined in:105
• the Bible (the English edition published by the Jehovah’s Witness organisation is the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures)
• the current elders’ handbook, Shepherd the Flock of God106
• Jehovah’s Witness organisation publications available to all congregants approaching baptism,107 such as Organized to Do Jehovah’s Will108
• guidelines issued by the Governing Body to all branch offices in August 2013 on how Service Desks should field questions from elders about child abuse matters109
• letters sent to all bodies of elders – in particular, the letter of 1 October 2012,110 which consolidated into one letter the spiritual advice and guidance provided in various letters from preceding years as to how Jehovah’s Witnesses handle allegations of child abuse111
• The Watchtower magazine article entitled ‘Let Us Abhor What is Wicked’, published in January 1997, which clarifies in biblical terms the principles a congregation should have regard to in considering how a ‘child molester’ should be viewed and treated.112
SO BY THIS I WOULD MAKE THIS CONCLUSION;
 DID NOT WT CORPORATION (HQ) BEEN AWARE FOR DECADES ABOUT LAW MANDATORY REPORTING OR NOT REPORTING, NOT ONLY IN AUSTRALIA BUT AROUND THE WORLD'?? IN ALL OTHER COUNTRIES WHERE WT COMPANY OPERATE??
AND BECAUSE WT JWORG IS UNIFIED,  IN UNITY AND UNIQUE  AS  GOD'S ORGANIZATION, UNDER THE SAME SPIRIT, AND HAVE SAME TEACHINGS, DOCTRINES AND INSTRUCTIONS AROUND THE WORLD - THEN WHY GB NOT HAVE THE SAME  PROTOCOL AND PRINCIPLES AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR ELDERS IN EVERY SINGLE CONGREGATION AND FOR AVERY BRO AND SIS IN THERE'?? IN ONE COUNTRY ELDERS WILL REPORT AND IN OTHER NOT ??????????????
G. JACKSON WAS INSTRUCTED BA LAWYERS WHAT AND HOW TO TESTIMONY. HE WAS NOT GUIDED BY HOLY SPIRIT.
Sorry for big letters. Nothing bad,  no angry mood, just to accent    

GB doing this periodically with excuses/explanation how "new light get brighter", was came on them and because that they changed teaching... and they, GB, literally using words how they not understand something in the past....but  now they do. "Now" will last to another changing of doctrine. 
Is reasoning (rationale) in your sentence possible to apply on GB? :)))

"Of course, the proverb isn't a lesson in piscine biology. The phrase appears to have been used in Turkey in a metaphorical rather than literal sense from the outset. That's just as well as, in reality, it is the guts of fish that rot and stink before the head."
Get real!!

There has been reference in this discussion about policy being good in theory but not practical in reality. This is an example of the same. It relates to a serious issue that seems to slip out of the frame in this highly emotive area of discussion.
Even Wikipedia refers to the fact that "Allegations of sexual abuse can be inherently traumatic to the child when false. People falsely charged with sexual abuse often face numerous problems of their own. The nature of the crime leveled at them often evokes an overwhelming sense of betrayal. In highly publicized cases, the general public has a strong tendency to summarily assume the accused is guilty, leading to very serious social stigma. The accused, even if acquitted, risks being fired from their job, losing their friends and other relationships, having their property vandalized, and being harassed by those believing them to be guilty."
I could cite examples of the trauma faced and experienced by those falsely accused, even to the point of suicide and murder, but there are organisations dedicated to defending and supporting such victims that provide a wealth of information to enable a more balanced consideration of this matter from a range of  perspectives. Linked below is one example.
https://factuk.org/
To say that, in the case of unproven allegations of child abuse, "reporting does not convict" displays a level of naivety, which, when compounded by an unqualified belief that "the police have capabilities to uncover wrongdoing" can only lead to gross injustice.
I am afraid that the finding of solutions to problems in this area of tragic evil requires the concentrated effort of far better minds than those exhibiting such emotive, unbalanced, and limited perspective.
Just sayin'.........   

The crux of the problem is that our policies were always more preventive focused and proactive as you say, and less cure focused.  We naively assumed that if we educate the friends on how to avoid child sexual abuse in the first palace, then all will be solved, there will be no victims. That was the ideal situation of course, but was however not taking into account the fact that not everyone was going to, or even capable of applying this advice.
I am trying to  be fair and I have no problem admitting we’ve had to eat humble pie because we thought our child protection was the best, because it focused on prevention. Indeed what’s better than that? In theory it was very good, and that’s because it was assuming that every parent and child applied all that advice that was put out there. But of course in practice this wasn’t the case, and so these preventative measures did not always achieve their goal because they were not always applied. So now, we have to revise the preventive idea and supplement it with getting justice for those for who it is too late, the victims, making disclosure as comfortable as possible, and ensuring punishment for those who committed the crime including limiting access to congregants.  And that all is a whole different ball game, but I trust we are doing our best because we do not want any of our children to suffer.

Of course it means something. Where did I suggest otherwise? I know our WT literature makes it clear that sexual abuse is abhorrent. Those articles are referring to proactive ways to prevent abuse, but I'm referring to what procedures take place after an event has occurred. 

This will help:
http://avoidjw.org/en/changes/child-abuse-policy-comparison/
On August 1 2016, Jehovah’s Witnesses made a worldwide release of a Child Abuse policy letter to all Bodies of Elders. This letter is to replace the October 1 2012 letter. But what are the main differences between these two letters? Here is a comparison of both letters. Text in blue are notations from avoidjw.org to assist in your comparison of the letters.
 
 

That's info about ways to keep safe, but I wanted to see information on how elders handle sexual abuse allegations in the congregation.

@Noble Berean all the policies we have on our website thus far are THESE.  But I have a feeling that's not what you meant. Did you want to see some kind of "confession"? Like the number of pedophiles or sexual predators there are among Jehovah's Witnesses?

Please do. It would really be great if I could just go on JW.org and they had a section on their website about their policies on sexual abuse in the congregation. But it's all kept under wraps. 

How so? 

Fair enough. Maybe elders didn't understand just how pervasive sex abuse was. But people know now that it's a threat. And yet there's an unwillingness to accept error or a need to change. 

Okay
 
Nowhere
 
Theologian is not a word we generally use. I am not one.
 
I am afraid I do not know where you are coming from, Allen. I think that I would like to. I am not sure of your role in this play.

I'm surprised to hear there's inconsistency on mandated reporting across Australia, but it doesn't defend the organization's policies. Unlike other institutions, the organization of JWs is a religion that prides itself on having a high moral standard far surpassing the law of the land. The elders act as shepherds for the flock. They are supposed to be protecting the flock from predators. So, elders have a moral responsibility as Christians to protect the flock, and that is the case regardless of what the law of the land says.
In the case of sexual abuse of minors, elders should air on the side of caution, because it involves the well-being of children. There should be a sense of urgency to protect others in the congregation from a sexual predator. You wouldn't perceive child molestation in the same way you perceive smoking a cigarette. Smoking is morally wrong, but molestation is a heinous crime that hurts children. Perhaps you could wait around for two witnesses to a smoker, but you shouldn't wait on sexual abuse. There is absolutely no reason why elders need an allegation to be Scripturally substantiated in order to report to the police, because reporting does not convict a person. The police need to do an investigation to find evidence of wrongdoing, but the police have capabilities to uncover wrongdoing that the elders do not have. So, the police are an ally to elders in this regard. It's hard to imagine that elders sat on allegations of sex abuse and allowed predators to prey on congregations for years. I don't know how that sits well with your Bible-trained conscience.

And this isn't even new news. I've been hearing about child abuse in congregations on discussion forums for the past 7 years. It's just that now the organization is facing a significant number of child abuse lawsuits worldwide and governments are scrutinizing the religion's policies. And this has gotten the attention of the media.

And a willingness to change for the better is a good thing. I would respect the org if it would acknowledge its errors and make necessary changes. But the organization seems set in its ways. 

Bon apetite!
Thanks for polite and mindful respond. Rare characteristic this days  ..... here :))))))

Just give me a couple of hours. Just starting on dinner.

fine article. people need roof for shelter and for growing up family and to meet together for this or that.
But to making "consecration", "dedication"  of breaks and walls and parking lots is crazy idea. 
People need some reason to socialize, to meet together, to eat and drink, to talk. And if that reason must be finished buildings works, let be. But what is the benefit from that if doctrines  making people spiritually stupid and manipulated and departs from main Jesus teachings.

you do manipulate with this bible verse on how to apply it on those who have opposite opinion compared with yours :)))

No, i will not wrote more, even not some verse from Proverbs because it would seems manipulative to you if i would quote them here :)))))))))))   

very sad to hear your conclusion! without real reasoning and ... ahh better to save my air and not to try respond more than this  
 

Please, show me place where G. Jackson said that, that i would be able to check for myself, thanks! 
https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/getattachment/c2d1f1f5-a1f2-4241-82fb-978d072734bd/Report-of-Case-Study-No-29
"Authority to produce or revise child sexual abuse policy
Mr Geoffrey Jackson said that the Governing Body’s expectation is that Branch Offices around the world will act in accordance with the procedures and guidelines set out in the 2015 Branch Organization Manual.113 Mr O’Brien told the Royal Commission that ‘the theocratic or Scriptural direction that the Governing Body provides, is the same in every branch and for all Jehovah’s Witnesses, worldwide’.114 Mr O’Brien explained that the Branch Committee faithfully implements and follows the direction of the Governing Body.115 Mr Toole said that Jehovah’s Witness congregations in Australia take their direction and instructions from the Branch Office.116
It is apparent that the Governing Body retains authority over the general principle and framework of all publications in the name of the Jehovah’s Witness organisation, and any view or perspective contrary to the Governing Body’s interpretation of the Scriptures is not tolerated."