Understanding the coercive practices of high-control groups
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No one sets out to join a cult.
Some arrive searching for community, drawn by the promise of belonging and purpose.
Others are born into them, with family ties leaving no room for choice.
Only later do many realise the cost: freedom surrendered, families broken and futures quietly stolen.
These are the stories the Legislative Assembly’s Legal and Social Issues Committee is hearing in its inquiry into the recruitment methods and impacts of cults and organised fringe groups.
The focus is not on the beliefs of these groups but on behaviour – the coercive and manipulative practices that recruit, control and harm.
What makes this inquiry unique is the way it has chosen to listen.
Alongside public hearings and submissions, the Committee offered a confidential online questionnaire. The response was overwhelming: 317 people spoke, many for the first time.
Anonymity gave survivors courage.
‘For many people who’ve had experiences in cults or other high-control groups, this might be their first opportunity to share what’s happened to them and their family members,’ said Committee Chair and Member for Lara, Ella George.
Read more https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/news/society/understanding-high-control-groups
Content retrieved from: https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/news/society/understanding-high-control-groups.
