Child Abuse: Dispute Among The Rabbis

                                                                (Illustrative photo)


Following the tragic and gruesome murder of 8 year old Leiby Kletzky in Borough Park, New York, the two largest orthodox rabbinical organizations, the Rabbinical Council of American (RCA) and the Agudath Yisrael, have both put out statements (see RCA and Agudah). The RCA is Modern Orthodox whereas the Agudath Yisrael is Chareidi.

Both organizations address the question of what someone should do, if they suspect or know of abuse against children.

The RCA's bottom line is:

"if one becomes aware of an instance of child abuse or endangerment, one is obligated to refer the matter to the secular authorities immediately,"  

and then adds,

"As always where the facts are uncertain one should use common sense and consultations with experts, both lay and rabbinic, to determine how and when to report such matters to the authorities."
On the related topic of those who are "mandated reporters" (ie required by US law to report suspicions of child abuse):

"A person covered by mandatory reporter laws must comply with those laws, even in a case in which Jewish law might otherwise not require a person to report such child abuse or endangerment." 

Meanwhile, the Agudath Yisrael published their own policy statement.

This states:

"Where there is “raglayim la’davar” (roughly, reason to believe) that a child has been abused or molested, the matter should be reported to the authorities." 

So far, sounds pretty similar to the RCA.

However, the statement continues:

"However, where the circumstances of the case do not rise to the threshold level of raglayim la’davar, the matter should not be reported to the authorities."

Therefore:

"the individual should not rely exclusively on his own judgment to determine the presence or absence of raglayim la’davar. Rather, he should present the facts of the case to a rabbi…" 
And regarding the Federal & State Law for mandated reporting, the statement is unclear:

On the one hand:

"This halachic obligation to report where there is raglayim la’davar is not dependent upon any secular legal mandate to report."
And yet:

"Thus, the question of whether the threshold standard of raglayim la’davar has been met so as to justify (indeed, to require) reporting is critical for halachic purposes. (The secular law also typically establishes a threshold for mandated reporters; in New York, it is “reasonable cause to suspect.”) The issue is obviously fact sensitive and must be determined on a case-by-case basis [ed: by the rabbi]." 
In other words, according to Agudath Yisrael, the rabbis have sole and exclusive jurisdiction & control in defining whether any specific allegation of child abuse requires reporting, or not, solely according to halachik standards of certainty ("raglaim ledevar").

The individual (ie.any non-Rabbi) is instructed not to take any independent decision, such as to follow the Law, obtain professional advice, follow his professional code of ethics, or listen to his common sense.