text: Jehovah's Witnesses abhor abuse and domestic violence. Witnesses fully understand that their role as a religion is in providing comfort to the victim and her family, warning to potential victims, extolling Christian peaceableness and righteousness, and eventually perhaps in couseling a repentant sinner.\n\nGovernment workers such as police and prosecutors are generally empowered to pursue criminal matters. Jehovah's Witnesses always work in obedience to secular law and deference to the personal decisions of victims (and their families, where practical). Jehovah's Witness ministers do not investigate criminal matters, leaving such matters to law enforcement authorities.\n\nAn unrepentant baptized Jehovah's Witness who is found guilty of a serious secular crime is likely to be disfellowshipped (or "excommunicated", although Witnesses do not use this latter term). However, a sin against God's supreme authority is clearly a different matter from a sin against secular superior authorities. The standards for criminal conviction and forced religious disassociation will never be identical.\n\nLearn more:\nhttp://watchtower.org/library/w/1997/1/1/article_01.htm\nhttp://watchtower.org/library/g/1985/1/22/article_01.htm\nhttp://watchtower.org/library/w/1995/11/1a/article_01.htm\nhttp://watchtower.org/library/g/1996/5/22/article_02.htm\nhttp://jw-media.org/vnr/2122827332/717263.htm\nhttp://jw-media.org/vnr/2122827332/713173.htm\nhttp://jw-media.org/vnr/2122827332/716353.htm\nhttp://jw-media.org/region/global/english/backgrounders/e_molestation.htm\nhttp://jw-media.org/region/americas/usa/english/releases/educational/usa_e990402a.htm