Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 15, No. 1, 1998, page 14
B. How the Antistalking Laws May Assist Cult Victims
Women are subjected to frequent visits, phone calling, and other harassment by cult
members in their quest to recruit members. For instance, the following series of acts could
constitute stalking: frequent visits to one‟s house, pamphleteering a dormitory room,
telephoning, and heckling. Exit and school counselors should be made aware of these laws
in an attempt to prevent stalking. Psychotherapist Shelly Rosen postulates that cults
advertise what women consciously want, such as success, guidance, romantic
relationships.119 Once in a cult, often women are subjected to endless “counseling” and
other harassment when they attempt to leave the cult.120 Shelly Rosen isolated three
“powerful manipulative tools” that cult leaders use to prevent their members from leaving:
(1) the use of narratives based on the departing members confessions (2) invoking
“ideology to criticize questioning” and (3) criticism of the member‟s commitment, which
Rosen argues is particularly more manipulative for women than men because women often
strive to maintain harmonious relationships.121
The new antistalking laws should provide remedies for cult victims in prosecuting stalkers
who are cult members. For most state laws, the conduct and the state of mind of the
defendant are at issue, not the state of mind of the victim, which may be helpful in the case
of a cult member who is stalked because it takes the burden off of the prosecutor to show
lack of consent of the cult member, as was necessary for the crime of rape. To convict the
stalker, the prosecutor must demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that there was a
course of conduct or behavior, a presence of threats, and the defendant‟s possession of
criminal intent to cause fear in the victim. Thus, the emphasis is on the stalker‟s acts and
state of mind, not the victim‟s.122 Whether the defendant poses a threat or acts in a way
that causes fear is judged from the standpoint of a reasonable person. The threat does not
need to be written or verbal. In many states, the defendant does not need to have actually
caused the fear he intended,123 which should be helpful in prosecuting stalkers who stalk
cult members.
The antistalking laws could be used by prosecutors if cult members conduct a campaign of
tactics to either recruit new members or to persuade members not to leave.
Conclusion
This article addressed recent changes in the state and federal laws that provide former cult
members legal recourse against their respective cult members and leaders. Other
literature124 has noted a similarity between cult leaders, who exert psychological control
over the group‟s members, and batterers, who seek to control domestic partners in abusive
personal relationships. The avenues for legal recourse identified in this article may be
applicable also for women entrapped within abusive personal relationships.
Notes
1. Violence Against Women Act of 1994, Pub. L. No. 103-322, Title IV, 108 Stat. 1902 (codified in
scattered sections of 18 &42 U.S.C.) (1994) [hereinafter “VAWA”] The VAWA was part of a larger
piece of legislation, enacted as the Violent Crime Control Act, which received a lot of publicity as
the “Crime Bill.”
2. BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS SPECIALK REPORT, U.S. DEP‟T OF JUSTICE, PUB. NCJ-154348,
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: ESTIMATES FROM THE REDESIGNED SURVEY 1 (Aug. 1995).
Younger women, ages 10 to 29, and poor women, in families with incomes below $10,000, are
more likely than other women to be victims of violence by an intimate.
3. For a thorough discussion of domestic violence statutes as pertaining to violence in homosexual
relationships, see Hon. Mac D. Hunter, Homosexuals as a New Class of Domestic Violence Subjects
Under the New Jersey Prevention of Domestic Violence Act of 1991, 31 U. Louisville J. Fam. L. 557
(1992/1993)
4. See Janja Lalich, Dominance and Submission: The Psychosexual Exploitation of Women in Cults,
14 Cultic Stud. J. 4, 7 (1997)
B. How the Antistalking Laws May Assist Cult Victims
Women are subjected to frequent visits, phone calling, and other harassment by cult
members in their quest to recruit members. For instance, the following series of acts could
constitute stalking: frequent visits to one‟s house, pamphleteering a dormitory room,
telephoning, and heckling. Exit and school counselors should be made aware of these laws
in an attempt to prevent stalking. Psychotherapist Shelly Rosen postulates that cults
advertise what women consciously want, such as success, guidance, romantic
relationships.119 Once in a cult, often women are subjected to endless “counseling” and
other harassment when they attempt to leave the cult.120 Shelly Rosen isolated three
“powerful manipulative tools” that cult leaders use to prevent their members from leaving:
(1) the use of narratives based on the departing members confessions (2) invoking
“ideology to criticize questioning” and (3) criticism of the member‟s commitment, which
Rosen argues is particularly more manipulative for women than men because women often
strive to maintain harmonious relationships.121
The new antistalking laws should provide remedies for cult victims in prosecuting stalkers
who are cult members. For most state laws, the conduct and the state of mind of the
defendant are at issue, not the state of mind of the victim, which may be helpful in the case
of a cult member who is stalked because it takes the burden off of the prosecutor to show
lack of consent of the cult member, as was necessary for the crime of rape. To convict the
stalker, the prosecutor must demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that there was a
course of conduct or behavior, a presence of threats, and the defendant‟s possession of
criminal intent to cause fear in the victim. Thus, the emphasis is on the stalker‟s acts and
state of mind, not the victim‟s.122 Whether the defendant poses a threat or acts in a way
that causes fear is judged from the standpoint of a reasonable person. The threat does not
need to be written or verbal. In many states, the defendant does not need to have actually
caused the fear he intended,123 which should be helpful in prosecuting stalkers who stalk
cult members.
The antistalking laws could be used by prosecutors if cult members conduct a campaign of
tactics to either recruit new members or to persuade members not to leave.
Conclusion
This article addressed recent changes in the state and federal laws that provide former cult
members legal recourse against their respective cult members and leaders. Other
literature124 has noted a similarity between cult leaders, who exert psychological control
over the group‟s members, and batterers, who seek to control domestic partners in abusive
personal relationships. The avenues for legal recourse identified in this article may be
applicable also for women entrapped within abusive personal relationships.
Notes
1. Violence Against Women Act of 1994, Pub. L. No. 103-322, Title IV, 108 Stat. 1902 (codified in
scattered sections of 18 &42 U.S.C.) (1994) [hereinafter “VAWA”] The VAWA was part of a larger
piece of legislation, enacted as the Violent Crime Control Act, which received a lot of publicity as
the “Crime Bill.”
2. BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS SPECIALK REPORT, U.S. DEP‟T OF JUSTICE, PUB. NCJ-154348,
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: ESTIMATES FROM THE REDESIGNED SURVEY 1 (Aug. 1995).
Younger women, ages 10 to 29, and poor women, in families with incomes below $10,000, are
more likely than other women to be victims of violence by an intimate.
3. For a thorough discussion of domestic violence statutes as pertaining to violence in homosexual
relationships, see Hon. Mac D. Hunter, Homosexuals as a New Class of Domestic Violence Subjects
Under the New Jersey Prevention of Domestic Violence Act of 1991, 31 U. Louisville J. Fam. L. 557
(1992/1993)
4. See Janja Lalich, Dominance and Submission: The Psychosexual Exploitation of Women in Cults,
14 Cultic Stud. J. 4, 7 (1997)
