The Victorian parliament has launched a long-overdue inquiry into abuse and coercive control within cults and religious fringe groups.<\/p>\n
It is a welcome acknowledgement of the damage that can flourish under the guise of faith, and the unquestioning obedience to authoritarian leaders in religious groups.<\/p>\n
The inquiry will hear victim-survivors can suffer a diverse range of harms, including sexual, financial and labour exploitation, spiritual manipulation, and institutional betrayal.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0inquiry<\/a> is the first of its kind in Australia. Prompted by recent events, including reports of coercive behaviour at the\u00a0Geelong Revival Centre<\/a>, the inquiry will examine \u201cthe methods used to recruit and control their members, and the impacts of coercive control\u201d.<\/p>\n According to the committee\u2019s\u00a0guidance note<\/a>, the focus will be on techniques that can damage individuals emotionally, psychologically, financially and even physically.<\/p>\n Importantly, the inquiry will interrogate \u201cabusive practices\u201d, not the beliefs behind them:<\/p>\n There is a distinction between genuine religious practice and harmful behaviour. \u201cFreedom of religion\u201d is not freedom, for example, to defraud, nor is it freedom to cause significant psychological harm to any person.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Consideration will be given to whether the law adequately protects people when cults and fringe groups cause the types of harm that should be criminalised.<\/p>\n My research<\/a>\u00a0examined the sexual exploitation of congregation members perpetrated by pastors within evangelical,\u00a0Pentecostal faith<\/a>\u00a0communities in Australia.<\/p>\n Respondents described feeling broken, shattered, and spiritually battered. The harms were similar to those experienced by survivors of incest, child sexual abuse and domestic violence.<\/p>\n For example: 72 per cent of respondents were diagnosed with an anxiety disorder; 52 per cent suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD); 48 per cent were diagnosed with depression; and 48 per cent experienced suicidal ideation.<\/p>\n As American sociologist and cult expert\u00a0Janja Lalich<\/a> explains:<\/p>\n Sexual control is seen as the final step in the objectification of the cult member by the authoritarian leader, who is able to satisfy his needs through psychological manipulation leading to sexual exploitation.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n My research uncovered instances of sexual exploitation by pastors that constitutes a form of sexual violence and coercive control. The absence of a centralised reporting body means there is no accessible data on the extent of clergy sexual exploitation of adults in Australian faith communities.<\/p>\n However,\u00a0international research<\/a>\u00a0found around 3% of churchgoing women had been subjected to sexual advances from a married religious leader.<\/p>\n Too often, institutions downplay the abuse as a \u201cmoral failing\u201d or a mutual lapse into sin, ignoring the profound power imbalance that makes meaningful consent impossible.<\/p>\n Pastor-congregant relationships are not consensual; they are violations of trust and authority. Survivors are often left with no pathways to justice or support because\u00a0coercive control<\/a>\u00a0is not recognised in non-intimate settings.<\/p>\n Victim-survivors would benefit from legal reform that formally recognises and criminalises this form of abuse.<\/p>\n Coercive control legislation covering institutional and spiritual settings, would help protect congregation members targeted by predator pastors.<\/p>\n I was recruited into a Pentecostal church as a teenager through a Bible college that was allowed into my public high school to \u201cpreach the gospel\u201d. I know firsthand how easily these environments can entrap teenagers at an age when many are seeking identity outside of family.<\/p>\n What began as a search for belonging led to years of grooming and coercion, and it took over two decades to name and report the abuse. The response from the church was just as harmful as the abuse itself.<\/p>\n The harms often extend beyond sexual exploitation in many of these groups. Marginalised individuals are particularly vulnerable in these environments.<\/p>\n LGBTQIA+ people in some evangelical churches have historically\u00a0been subjected<\/a>\u00a0to conversion practices masquerading as prayer, counselling, or pastoral care. In one recent example, an\u00a0evangelical church<\/a> in New South Wales preached from the pulpit:<\/p>\n A gay person is at least three times more likely to kill themselves. A transsexual is 15 times more likely to kill themselves. So if you are a parent and you love your kids make sure they are not gay or trans.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n This kind of messaging doesn\u2019t protect children \u2013 it instils fear, shame, and self-hatred. It reflects a deeper pattern of spiritual abuse that\u00a0pathologises identity<\/a>\u00a0and uses fear to exert control. The consequences are devastating, especially for young people already struggling to reconcile faith, identity, and belonging.<\/p>\n Many people fail to grasp how intelligent adults can become trapped in such environments.<\/p>\n But coercive control is not about intelligence \u2013 it\u2019s about power, dependency, and the slow erosion of critical thinking by spiritual authority.<\/p>\n While coercive control in family violence is finally being addressed, spiritual and sexual coercive control within faith communities, cults, and fringe groups remains in a legal blind spot.<\/p>\n This is exactly why the Victorian probe and follow-up law reform are both necessary.<\/p>\n The inquiry should provide a framework for other states and territories to follow suit and scrutinise cults and organised fringe groups in their own jurisdictions.<\/p>\n This article was originally published on <\/strong><\/em>The Conversation<\/strong><\/a>. It was co-authored by Kathleen McPhillips, Senior Lecturer at the School of Humanities and Social Science, University of Newcastle.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nSexual control<\/h3>\n
Power imbalance<\/h3>\n
Search for belonging<\/h3>\n
Fear and shame<\/h3>\n
Template for reform<\/h3>\n