Survivors call for broader coercive control laws that cover cults and high-control groups

Survivors of cults and high-control groups across Victoria are speaking up in unprecedented numbers, many for the first time, and expressing genuine hope that change is finally possible.

Their experiences have shaped Beyond Belief, a survivor-led report co-developed by the Australian Cult Survivors Network, Stop Religious Coercion Australia, a working group of survivor-led organisations, and internationally recognised cult expert Janja Lalich PhD.

The report draws on the written contributions of 64 survivors, family members, practitioners and community members, and has been submitted to the Parliamentary Inquiry into the Recruitment Methods and Impacts of Cults and Organised Fringe Groups.

Lead Author Patrick McIvor will brief the Inquiry today, presenting a clear pathway forward for government based on the report’s sixteen recommendations. He noted that the current proposal to ban coercive control in Victoria, put forward by Opposition Leader Jess Wilson, is limited to family-violence contexts and leaves people harmed in high-control groups unprotected.

“The evidence is devastating. The harm is undeniable and unacceptable,” Mr McIvor said.

Drawing on more than 12,000 words of lived-experience contributions and analysis of Victorian and Commonwealth laws, the briefing will show that many harmful practices fall between existing protections and remain functionally unaddressed.

“Coercive control has a devastating impact on victims’ lives, in relationships, in families, and in high-control groups such as some religious, spiritual, wellness, political or personal development groups. Leadership figures inside these groups use patterned, sustained tactics to reshape a person’s autonomy, identity, relationships and worldview,” McIvor said. “While similar to coercive control in intimate relationships, this harm also occurs in non-domestic settings and may involve collective enforcement or systemic pressure across many aspects of life.”

Mr McIvor emphasised that criminalisation is not the primary solution.

“Only one of our 16 recommendations concerns criminal law,” he said. “Meaningful protection comes from shifting community norms and strengthening the environments around people, not from criminal law alone. Preventing harm requires coordinated systems, organisational safeguards and cultural change.”

The briefing will outline how existing laws provide important incident-based responses, yet leave patterned, cumulative forms of domination largely invisible.

“As coercive control begins to dominate all aspects of a person’s life, it becomes a serious harm in its own right and a precursor to other criminal conduct,” Mr McIvor said. “A legal definition of group-based coercive control would not replace current protections. It would fill the gaps between them and support multi-agency coordination.”

Elise Heerde, a cult recovery mental health practitioner who recently briefed the inquiry, said, “The damage done by high-control groups is beyond the pale. Survivors are living with PTSD, shame, identity loss, and lifelong relational fallout. They’re carrying wounds they never should have sustained. We know what the solutions are, we know what support works. Now we look forward to seeing those solutions implemented.”

Catherine Carey, co-founder of Stop Religious Coercion Australia, whose early advocacy was key to triggering the inquiry, praised the courage of survivors who had input into the inquiry:

“because of all the incredibly brave people who contributed through the anonymous survey and the submissions processes, we now have the data to back up the damage that we see constantly, both as advocates and survivors. We are now looking forward to seeing meaningful change.”

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Issued by:

Survivors of Coercive Cults and High-Control Groups (SOCCHG) &
Stop Religious Coercion Australia (SRCA)

Media contact:

Patrick McIvor
Counsellor and Policy Consultant
Lead Author of Beyond Belief: Responding to Cults and High-Control Groups in Victoria.

Email: patrick@steadyground.au

Mr McIvor is a former government investigator who now works as a counsellor. He was previously involved in advocacy contributing to Victoria’s prohibition of LGBTQA+ conversion practices.