Parliamentary inquiry probes experiences of children in high-control religious groups
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At eight years old, Mirriam Francis remembers locking herself in the bathroom to avoid “auditing” — a series of intense interviews in which she was asked intrusive and sexual questions.
Fighting back tears, she recounted these sessions and her experiences within the Church of Scientology at a parliamentary inquiry this week.
“I lied and said I needed to pee. I ran the water in the sink while she knocked,” she said.
“I lied and said I was hungry. She came back with pieces of cheese.
During auditing, which Scientologists say is about discarding “spiritual disabilities”, an interviewee holds cans connected to a meter that measures small electrical changes.
The church says this helps an auditor to identify a person’s thoughts, emotions and past experiences.
Ms Francis was born into Scientology in Sydney in 1984.
Mirriam Francis spent about two decades in the Church of Scientology, including in its Sea Org unit. (Supplied)
At the age of six, Ms Francis was moved to Los Angeles, where she says she lived in a Scientology facility with other children.
She called it “institutionalised care” — children sleeping on bunks or on the floor with limited adult supervision.
“I know what it is to be treated as an adult in a small body,” she said.
“To bear adult expectations, to face adult exposures and to have adult experiences.”
Returning to Australia in 2002 at the age of 17, she spent about a decade volunteering with the church before leaving in her mid-20s.
She has now given evidence to the Victorian parliament’s inquiry into the recruitment methods and impacts of cults and organised fringe groups.
The inquiry is considering whether stronger laws are needed to deal with groups that “use manipulation or control”.
“The inquiry is not about judging anyone’s beliefs — it’s about protecting people from harm,” the inquiry said on its website
Scientology is a recognised religion and registered charity in Australia, meaning it does not have to pay income tax on profits.
Read more https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-06/former-scientologist-fronts-cult-fringe-group-inquiry/105979444
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