Ex Jehovah's Witness Whistleblower Exposes Shocking Allegations

Were Jehovah’s Witnesses involved in child labor, modern slavery, financial fraud, coercive control, and systemic human rights abuses? In this episode of Cults, Culture, & Coercion, Dr. Steven Hassan interviews Australian activist and whistleblower Lara Kaput about growing up inside Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Lara Kaput is a former Jehovah’s Witness, co-founder of Say Sorry, and a prominent advocate for survivors of high-control groups. For more than eight years, she has provided testimony, submissions, and evidence to governments, law enforcement agencies, Royal Commissions, and inquiries examining the practices of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Watchtower Society. Drawing on her personal experiences and extensive advocacy work, Kaput discusses the lasting impact of disfellowshipping, family separation, coercive control, and institutional abuse.

In this conversation, Dr. Hassan and Lara Kaput talk about:

- Growing up as a third-generation Jehovah’s Witness and leaving the organization at age 19

- The Australian Royal Commission and investigations into institutional responses to child sexual abuse

- The role of former members, whistleblowers, and survivor advocacy groups in exposing alleged cult abuses

- How Dr. Hassan’s BITE Model helped Kaput recognize Jehovah’s Witnesses as a cult

- The practice of disfellowshipping and extreme shunning of former members

- Allegations of child labor, unpaid labor, and modern slavery within Jehovah’s Witness communities

- Claims of financial misconduct involving Kingdom Hall property sales and organizational restructuring

- The impact of coercive control on family relationships, child custody disputes, and parental alienation

- Mental health challenges reported by many current and former Jehovah’s Witnesses

- The history of child abuse investigations involving the Watchtower Society

- Social isolation, shunning, and the pressure to marry within the faith

- The ongoing fight for accountability, survivor support, and legal reform

Kaput also shares details from dozens of submissions she has made to governments and inquiries across multiple countries, outlining allegations ranging from child abuse cover-ups and domestic violence concerns to labor exploitation, human rights abuses, and financial practices she believes deserve greater public scrutiny.

This conversation is essential viewing for anyone seeking to understand Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Watchtower Society, cult recovery, coercive control, modern slavery allegations, child labor concerns, religious abuse, shunning, family estrangement, and the psychology of authoritarian groups.

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Chapters:

#JehovahsWitnesses #Watchtower #StevenHassan #CultsCultureAndCoercion #CultRecovery #CultMindControl #Shunning #Disfellowshipping #RoyalCommission #ReligiousAbuse #ChildLabor #ModernSlavery #HumanRights #CoerciveControl #ExJW

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