20 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 9, 2018
1. Physical Force, Threats, Malnourishment
Both cult leaders and traffickers use actual
physical assaults, including beatings, stabbings,
burnings, and sexual abuse,
290F
291 to maintain
control over their victims. Traffickers are known
to threaten harm as well, both by making direct
threats to victim and his or her family,
291F
292 and by
inflicting harm on others in the victim’s
presence.
292F
293 Similarly, as was illustrated above
by the story of Elissa Wall—who was threatened
with an altar ritual that would result in her death
for having had an adulterous affair and leaving
her husband—cult adherents are subjected to
threats of violence in various ways.
Malnourishment is common among both
trafficked persons
293F
294 and cult members.
Traffickers withhold food as a form of
punishment.
294F
295 For example, some trafficked
factory workers have reported subsisting on
broth and rice for a year, and domestic workers
have had nutritional meals withheld entirely.
295F
296
Similarly, cult adherents are, at times, pressured
to forgo nutrition. For example, members of the
isolationist group “The Body” pressured a
member to take her infant son (who also
happened to be the child of the cult’s leader) off
of solid food and formula and sustain him on
breast milk only.
296F
297 Sadly, the mother could not
produce adequate milk and the child died of
malnutrition before turning a year old.
297F
298
2. Psychological Coercion and Surveillance
Bonding and dependency, the twisted result of
an abusive relationship, is common among both
cultic and trafficked victims. “[P]sychological
coercion has proven to be just as powerful as
physical force and used more often, creating
invisible barriers to a trafficked person’s
291 See id. at 22−23 Ian Urbina, Forced Labor for Cheap Fish:
‘Sea Slaves’ Endure Danger and Debt Trawling for Pet Food,
N.Y. TIMES, July 27, 2015, at A1 (describing a first-hand account
of kidnapping, captivity, violence).
292 See HYLAND &SREEHARSHA, supra note 240, at 23.
293 Id.
294 Id. at 24.
295 Id.
296 Id.
297 HAMILTON, supra note 176, at 72−73.
298 Id.
escape.”
298F
299 Persons lured to their traffickers
through fake romantic relationships have
continued to remain loyal despite the illegality
of trafficking.
299F
300 Similarly, FLDS member Wall
explained that her fellow church members lied at
trial to defend the church, despite the
widespread practice of forced marriage to
underage teenage girls.
300F
301
One result of psychological coercion is that
victims may say things or exhibit behaviors that,
perpetrators can argue, signal their consent to
their circumstances. In trafficking cases,
international human rights law has recognized
that one cannot consent to having his or her
freedom taken away.
301F
302 Thus, the prosecution
can use these laws to attack a victim’s
expressions of consent, especially if the victim’s
freedom was obviously restricted (for example,
through locked doors or shackles). However,
alleged “consent” of cult devotees is often a
more challenging hurdle for prosecutors. While
the law recognizes that one cannot consent to
physical and mental abuse in most cases, cult
leaders may argue for a different understanding
of consent when the “abuse” is part of an
allegedly religious belief. Because of the
protection and deference afforded to religious
freedoms and freedom of expression inside and
outside of the United States, these arguments
may resonate with the courts. Further, cult
leaders can point to the voluntary nature of
joining a cult in the first place. Often, ex-cultists
later claim that they could not have, in the legal
sense, consented to joining the cultic group
because they were uninformed about its tactics
when they were considering membership, and
thus could not make an informed choice. Yet,
this can be a difficult argument to make,
particularly if visible physical restraints, like
those observed in trafficking cases, did not limit
the member’s ability to leave the group.
Much like cult adherents, trafficked persons are
under surveillance. Traffickers watch their
captives through video cameras in massage
299 HYLAND &SREEHARSHA, supra note 240, at 26.
300 Id. at 30.
301 See WALL, supra note 20.
302 See U.N. Fact Sheet No. 36, supra note 249, at 3−4.
1. Physical Force, Threats, Malnourishment
Both cult leaders and traffickers use actual
physical assaults, including beatings, stabbings,
burnings, and sexual abuse,
290F
291 to maintain
control over their victims. Traffickers are known
to threaten harm as well, both by making direct
threats to victim and his or her family,
291F
292 and by
inflicting harm on others in the victim’s
presence.
292F
293 Similarly, as was illustrated above
by the story of Elissa Wall—who was threatened
with an altar ritual that would result in her death
for having had an adulterous affair and leaving
her husband—cult adherents are subjected to
threats of violence in various ways.
Malnourishment is common among both
trafficked persons
293F
294 and cult members.
Traffickers withhold food as a form of
punishment.
294F
295 For example, some trafficked
factory workers have reported subsisting on
broth and rice for a year, and domestic workers
have had nutritional meals withheld entirely.
295F
296
Similarly, cult adherents are, at times, pressured
to forgo nutrition. For example, members of the
isolationist group “The Body” pressured a
member to take her infant son (who also
happened to be the child of the cult’s leader) off
of solid food and formula and sustain him on
breast milk only.
296F
297 Sadly, the mother could not
produce adequate milk and the child died of
malnutrition before turning a year old.
297F
298
2. Psychological Coercion and Surveillance
Bonding and dependency, the twisted result of
an abusive relationship, is common among both
cultic and trafficked victims. “[P]sychological
coercion has proven to be just as powerful as
physical force and used more often, creating
invisible barriers to a trafficked person’s
291 See id. at 22−23 Ian Urbina, Forced Labor for Cheap Fish:
‘Sea Slaves’ Endure Danger and Debt Trawling for Pet Food,
N.Y. TIMES, July 27, 2015, at A1 (describing a first-hand account
of kidnapping, captivity, violence).
292 See HYLAND &SREEHARSHA, supra note 240, at 23.
293 Id.
294 Id. at 24.
295 Id.
296 Id.
297 HAMILTON, supra note 176, at 72−73.
298 Id.
escape.”
298F
299 Persons lured to their traffickers
through fake romantic relationships have
continued to remain loyal despite the illegality
of trafficking.
299F
300 Similarly, FLDS member Wall
explained that her fellow church members lied at
trial to defend the church, despite the
widespread practice of forced marriage to
underage teenage girls.
300F
301
One result of psychological coercion is that
victims may say things or exhibit behaviors that,
perpetrators can argue, signal their consent to
their circumstances. In trafficking cases,
international human rights law has recognized
that one cannot consent to having his or her
freedom taken away.
301F
302 Thus, the prosecution
can use these laws to attack a victim’s
expressions of consent, especially if the victim’s
freedom was obviously restricted (for example,
through locked doors or shackles). However,
alleged “consent” of cult devotees is often a
more challenging hurdle for prosecutors. While
the law recognizes that one cannot consent to
physical and mental abuse in most cases, cult
leaders may argue for a different understanding
of consent when the “abuse” is part of an
allegedly religious belief. Because of the
protection and deference afforded to religious
freedoms and freedom of expression inside and
outside of the United States, these arguments
may resonate with the courts. Further, cult
leaders can point to the voluntary nature of
joining a cult in the first place. Often, ex-cultists
later claim that they could not have, in the legal
sense, consented to joining the cultic group
because they were uninformed about its tactics
when they were considering membership, and
thus could not make an informed choice. Yet,
this can be a difficult argument to make,
particularly if visible physical restraints, like
those observed in trafficking cases, did not limit
the member’s ability to leave the group.
Much like cult adherents, trafficked persons are
under surveillance. Traffickers watch their
captives through video cameras in massage
299 HYLAND &SREEHARSHA, supra note 240, at 26.
300 Id. at 30.
301 See WALL, supra note 20.
302 See U.N. Fact Sheet No. 36, supra note 249, at 3−4.
