International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation ■ Vol. 1, No. 1, 2020 73
Global Violence of Women in Cults
By Doni Whitsett and Natasha Post Rosow
Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California
Case Study: Sarah1
Sarah was a few months old when her parents
joined the Twelve Tribes of Israel, an
international Bible-based sect. She knew
little of the world outside the Twelve Tribes
communal farm where her family lived,
prayed, and worked. At age 4 years, Sarah
began working at the group’s retail store and
caring for younger children. By age 5 years,
she was caring for an infant all by herself. At
age 7 years, she added work in the group’s
organic restaurant to her list of jobs.
Although this was illegal, Sarah thought it
was normal at the time. The Twelve Tribes
strived for perfection and children could be
beaten, often for 4–8 hours, for the tiniest
infraction—dropping a pencil at school or
spilling milk at meals. Sarah often cut her
finger when helping her mother cook, and
each time she would need to be hit with a
bamboo rod. It was not just minor mistakes
that brought beatings. Anything playful or
imaginative was considered “frivolous” and
merited punishment with the rod. Toys were
prohibited. Friendships were also frowned
upon. To help children and adults avoid
friendships, families moved every 4 months
and Sarah lost track of what state they were
living in. Not that it mattered. Sarah believed
that the world outside was an evil and
terrifying place where nobody cared about
1 This content is a reprint, with permissions by Oxford Scholarship
Online and the authors, of Chapter 20, “Global Violence of
Women in Cults,” by the authors, published in Women’s Journey
to Empowerment in the 21st Century: A Transnational Feminist
Analysis of Women’s Lives in Modern Times (Kristen Zaleski,
Annalisa, Enrle, Eugenia L. Weiss, and Xiying Wang, Eds.),
published to Oxford Scholarship Online, October 2019. ISBN-13:
9780190927097 DOI:10.1093/oso/9780190927097.001.0001. The
you. Venturing out was nothing short of
dangerous.
But Sarah often felt scared and alone, even inside
the community. Her parents were kept busy with
work and prayer. As a young child, she was left
in the care of 10-year-old girls. One of these girls
physically and sexually abused Sarah, but when
she reported it, her mother beat Sarah on her
vagina with the rod. Sarah had four siblings, but
bonding between them was discouraged. Her
favorite brother was sent to work at a compound
in another country when he was 16 years old, and
the family lost track of him entirely. Sarah
struggled most with the awareness that her sole
purpose on earth was to serve a man—her father
first, then her future husband. As a little girl, she
had to be subservient to the boys, preparing them
for their future roles. Later, she would learn that
there were strict rules governing sex and
marriage, and all of them were constructed to
forbid pleasure for women. Rape and sexual
abuse of girls were normal in her world. One
of Sarah’s earliest memories was of being 3
years old and wishing God would make her a
boy, thinking even then “If only I could be a
boy then I would be okay.”
Sarah escaped the cult at age 13 years
because her father chose to leave and brought
her with him. Her name and certain details of
her story have been changed to protect her
identity,2 but The Twelve Tribes of Israel is
an existing cult that still functions with
thriving communities on four continents.
graphic, Disappearing Mother, is reprinted with the permission of
the artist, Katharina Meredith. This reprint has been reformatted,
with minor detail edits as necessary to accommodate IJCAM style.
2 A special thank you to the person called “Sarah,” whose
willingness to share her story was vital to the writing of this chapter.
We have attempted to be true to the original narrative, changing only
those demographics that would reveal her identity.
Global Violence of Women in Cults
By Doni Whitsett and Natasha Post Rosow
Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California
Case Study: Sarah1
Sarah was a few months old when her parents
joined the Twelve Tribes of Israel, an
international Bible-based sect. She knew
little of the world outside the Twelve Tribes
communal farm where her family lived,
prayed, and worked. At age 4 years, Sarah
began working at the group’s retail store and
caring for younger children. By age 5 years,
she was caring for an infant all by herself. At
age 7 years, she added work in the group’s
organic restaurant to her list of jobs.
Although this was illegal, Sarah thought it
was normal at the time. The Twelve Tribes
strived for perfection and children could be
beaten, often for 4–8 hours, for the tiniest
infraction—dropping a pencil at school or
spilling milk at meals. Sarah often cut her
finger when helping her mother cook, and
each time she would need to be hit with a
bamboo rod. It was not just minor mistakes
that brought beatings. Anything playful or
imaginative was considered “frivolous” and
merited punishment with the rod. Toys were
prohibited. Friendships were also frowned
upon. To help children and adults avoid
friendships, families moved every 4 months
and Sarah lost track of what state they were
living in. Not that it mattered. Sarah believed
that the world outside was an evil and
terrifying place where nobody cared about
1 This content is a reprint, with permissions by Oxford Scholarship
Online and the authors, of Chapter 20, “Global Violence of
Women in Cults,” by the authors, published in Women’s Journey
to Empowerment in the 21st Century: A Transnational Feminist
Analysis of Women’s Lives in Modern Times (Kristen Zaleski,
Annalisa, Enrle, Eugenia L. Weiss, and Xiying Wang, Eds.),
published to Oxford Scholarship Online, October 2019. ISBN-13:
9780190927097 DOI:10.1093/oso/9780190927097.001.0001. The
you. Venturing out was nothing short of
dangerous.
But Sarah often felt scared and alone, even inside
the community. Her parents were kept busy with
work and prayer. As a young child, she was left
in the care of 10-year-old girls. One of these girls
physically and sexually abused Sarah, but when
she reported it, her mother beat Sarah on her
vagina with the rod. Sarah had four siblings, but
bonding between them was discouraged. Her
favorite brother was sent to work at a compound
in another country when he was 16 years old, and
the family lost track of him entirely. Sarah
struggled most with the awareness that her sole
purpose on earth was to serve a man—her father
first, then her future husband. As a little girl, she
had to be subservient to the boys, preparing them
for their future roles. Later, she would learn that
there were strict rules governing sex and
marriage, and all of them were constructed to
forbid pleasure for women. Rape and sexual
abuse of girls were normal in her world. One
of Sarah’s earliest memories was of being 3
years old and wishing God would make her a
boy, thinking even then “If only I could be a
boy then I would be okay.”
Sarah escaped the cult at age 13 years
because her father chose to leave and brought
her with him. Her name and certain details of
her story have been changed to protect her
identity,2 but The Twelve Tribes of Israel is
an existing cult that still functions with
thriving communities on four continents.
graphic, Disappearing Mother, is reprinted with the permission of
the artist, Katharina Meredith. This reprint has been reformatted,
with minor detail edits as necessary to accommodate IJCAM style.
2 A special thank you to the person called “Sarah,” whose
willingness to share her story was vital to the writing of this chapter.
We have attempted to be true to the original narrative, changing only
those demographics that would reveal her identity.
