Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 14, No. 1, 1997, page 6
Dominance and Submission: The Psychosexual
Exploitation of Women in Cults1
Janja Lalich
Community Resources on Influence &Control
Alameda, California
Abstract
The author describes the prevalence of the sexual exploitation of women in cults.
This may take the form of daily controls of sexuality and sex lives or more overt
abuses such as arranged marriages, forced sexual activity with the leader, and
rape. Sexual control is seen as the final step in objectification of the cult member
by the authoritarian leader who is able to satisfy his needs through psychological
manipulation leading to sexual exploitation. Key to recovering from cultic sexual
abuse is psychoeducation --that is, aiding the former cult member to understand
the nature of the overall system of deception and manipulation that was used to
exploit her. Through an examination of the social and psychological influence
techniques employed by the cult, former cult members will be able to productively
confront the issues related to their sexual abuse.
With approximately 5,000 cults active in the United States today (Tobias &Lalich, 1994),
and an estimated 185,000 new members being recruited each year (Martin, 1996), public or
professional discussions and analyses of life inside a cult are surprisingly sparse. I define a
cult as a particular type of relationship that not only is based on an enormous power
imbalance between the leader and followers but also includes a hidden agenda. Whether a
group or one-on-one situation, a cult relies on deception, manipulation, and exploitation,
and almost certainly results in abuse. At the head of the cult is a self-proclaimed leader (or
sometimes two or three) who demands all veneration, who makes all decisions, and who
ultimately controls most aspects of the personal lives of those who are cleverly persuaded
that they must follow, obey, and stay in the good graces (i.e., the grips) of the leader.
Despite the common misconception that only crazy, unstable, or weird people are in cults,
research has shown that most cult members are of above-average intelligence, come from
stable backgrounds, and do not have a history of psychological illness (Langone, 1993
Singer with Lalich, 1995 Tobias &Lalich, 1994). Cult leaders and cult recruiters tend to
capture the hearts, minds, and souls of the best and brightest in our society. Cults look for
active, productive, intelligent, energetic individuals who will perform for the cult by fund-
raising, recruiting more followers, and operating cult-owned businesses or leading cult-
related seminars. In the 1960s and 1970s, perhaps, it was more typical for primarily young
people to get involved with a cult this is no longer so. The young and old alike, and
everyone in between, are being recruited into a wide array of cultic groups.
Cults may be formed around almost any topic, and are categorized by nine broad themes:
religious, Eastern-based, New Age, business, political, psychotherapy/human potential,
occult, one-on-one, and miscellaneous (such as lifestyle or personality cults). In general,
cults appeal to that part of ourselves that wants something better. A better world for others
or a better self --these are the genuine, heartfelt desires of decent, honest human beings.
Cult recruiters are trained in how to play on those desires, how to make it look as though
what the cult has to offer is exactly what you‟re interested in.
All cults, no matter their stripe, are a variation on a theme. The common denominator is the
leadership‟s use of a thought-reform program (i.e., behavior control) without the knowledge
or consent of the one who is being manipulated. By attacking a person‟s innermost self, cult

Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 14, No. 1, 1997, page 7
leaders manage to dissemble and reformulate members according to the cult‟s desired
image. In other words, through a variety of social and psychological influence techniques,
they take away you and give you back a cult personality, a pseudopersonality. They punish
you when the old you turns up, and they reward the new you. Before you know it, you don‟t
know who you are or how you got there you only know (or you are trained to believe) that
you have to stay there. In a cult there is only one way--cults are totalitarian, set up to serve
the leader‟s whims and desires, be they power, sex, or money (Lalich, 1996).
In many cults, the sexuality and sex lives of members are controlled, manipulated, and
exploited, just as are other aspects of life. Cult leaders seem to realize rather quickly (if
they didn‟t already have it in mind) that a great source of power can be found in the sexual
control of their followers. Most people come into cults with certain personal values, including
having a sense of their own sexual preferences, behaviors, norms, and expectations. But
because of the influence of the group‟s persuasive methods, reinforced by leadership
demands and peer pressure, in most cases a cult member‟s value system and sense of
morality get altered, sometimes radically. Enforcing sexual submission may be considered
the final step in the objectification of the individual as cult member.
Although sexual exploitation of male cult members is not uncommon, here I will focus on
the psychosexual exploitation of women in cults. And even though cults are led by women
as well as men, I will use the masculine pronoun when referring to cult leaders since, as far
as we‟ve seen, most of them are men.
Prevalence of Sexual Exploitation in Cults
For the purposes of this article, sexual exploitation is defined as the exercise of power for
the purpose of controlling, using, or abusing another person sexually in order to satisfy the
conscious or unconscious needs of the person in power --whether those needs be sexual,
financial, emotional, or physical. Sexual abuse can range from having to live in a sexually
coercive environment (whether or not one is personally abused) to unwanted touching to
rape. It may masquerade as “marriage” to the leader or as some form of “spiritual” practice,
or it may come about as the overt seduction of vulnerable females (or males) by those in
power. In many groups, if not the leader, then the husbands are given absolute control over
their wives (and children), including a license for sexual activities without mutual consent.
Marital rape is an accepted standard in certain cults.
Sexual exploitation includes reproductive and general sexual controls through such policies
as enforced celibacy, arranged marriages, mandated relationships or intimacies, and
regulated childbearing. Even if no such specific practices are overtly employed, most cults
govern the sex lives of members with myriad rules and regulations.
Although no research has been done on the incidence of sexual abuse in cults, at one
postcult recovery workshop, 40% of the women present said they had been sexually abused
in their cult (Tobias &Lalich, 1994, p. 171). If we were to take that figure as an indicator of
the prevalence of sexual abuse in cults, I would predict that when solid research is finally
done in this area, we will find that 40% is actually an extremely low figure. I base this on
my own work as a cult information specialist and educator who meets regularly with former
cult members to help them get some clarity on their cultic experiences. The 26 female
former cult members seen by me in the past 9 months came from a wide spectrum of
cults.2 Fifteen of the women were directly abused (14 by their leader and on occasion also
by others in the cult, and 1 raped by her cult husband at the leader‟s orders). Eight had
their personal, marital, and/or sex lives manipulated and controlled by the cult. The
remaining three were not personally abused but eventually became aware of the sexual
victimization of other female members by the leader. In four of these cases, the sexual
activity included lesbian and/or bisexual liaisons and in three, the women were also
subjected to physical abuse, one of which was ongoing and extreme.