A VICTIM of sexual abuse within the Jehovah's Witnesses would face an "impossible choice" between staying in the church and being cut off from friends and family, the child abuse royal commission has heard.

ONE of the most senior members of the Jehovah's Witnesses in Australia, Terrence O'Brien, told the commission on Wednesday that a victim would know that by "disassociating" or leaving the church, they would be shunned by other Jehovah's Witnesses.

Originally published asAbuse victims 'face cruel choice': inquiry