Jehovah's Witnesses are a high-control religion, as defined by cult expert Dr. Stephen Hassan's BITE Model of Authoritarian Control.

Far more than other religious groups, this organization, led by its Governing Body, utilizes brutal psychological abuse and conditioning to control nearly every aspect of members' lives.

The religion actively harms its members by, among other things, cutting them off from the outside world, mandating the shunning of members who leave, discouraging higher education, prohibiting life-saving blood transfusions, and even sheltering known child molesters from the authorities.

For those trapped in a high-control group like Jehovah’s Witnesses, escape can seem impossible. 

Most Witnesses are born into the religion and are conditioned from birth to fear the outside world. They are taught that God will soon destroy everyone and everything outside the religion. To survive this coming "Armageddon," they must follow the religion's rules and isolate themselves from the world.
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This fear an distrust of "the world" leaves Witnesses with little-to-no resources outside the religion.

Those who do leave or are expelled for breaking the religion's rules are typically shunned by the community, including their own families.