Michele Vescio speaks with Sherrie D’Souza, a former devoted Jehovah's Witness of 30 years, recently awakened and leaving the religion, about her lived experience of religious mind control, and the effects of religious beliefs, shunning, the 2016 Royal Commission into institutional responses to child sex abuse involving the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the advocacy work of Recovering from Religion and the Secular Therapy Project. For more information, call 03 4505 2402, or visit http://recoveringfromreligion.org and http://seculartherapy.org.

Content warning: This interview contains descriptions and discussions of religious fundamentalism, religious shunning and ex-communication, mental health, and child sex abuse, that may be distressing for some listeners. If this type of content is a trigger for you, please contact Lifeline (13 11 14), 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) in Australia, or contact your state-based service.

Original broadcast: 3CR Monday Breakfast, 13 July 2020, and remains the intellectual property of 3CR Community Radio and the Community Radio Federation Ltd. This interview was recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri and Boonwurrong peoples of the Kulin Nation in so-called Australia, traditional custodians and caretakers of the lands and waters on which this audio was created and produced.

Shared with permission.

Sherrie Dsouza is an ex-Jehovah’s Witness who is now dedicated to sharing her waking up adventure and the truth about the dark side of the Jehovah’s Witnesses including child abuse, corrupt leadership and indoctrination practices. She is the survey editor for http//:JWsurvey.org and is also a Support Group Leader for Recovering from Religion, starting the first RfR support group in Sydney, Australia. She currently lives with her husband in South West Sydney, Australia, where she enjoys meditating, reading, and science fiction.

Links & resources

Michael Vescio: https://twitter.com/Mchl_Vsc

Sherrie D'Souza: https://twitter.com/sherriedsouza

Lifeline (Australia): https://www.lifeline.org.au

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