Former members of the Shincheonji church in Australia are speaking out about alleged coercive tactics used by the group, including sleep deprivation and verbal abuse. They are calling on the government to take action.
Former members of the Shincheonji church say the group uses ‘coercive’ tactics such as sleep deprivation and verbal abuse – and they want the government to act
Shincheonji originated in South Korea, but the church has locations throughout the world including in major Australian cities and some regional locations. The church The Australian Catholic University deputy vice-chancellor, Prof Julie Cogin, says last semester she was alerted that the number of approaches by Shincheonji recruiters at the Melbourne campus were increasing.
One former church member and recruiter told Guardian Australia: “They love first-year students, they call them ‘freshies’. The recruitment process also involves trawling through the recruit’s social media accounts and ensuring constant contact, check-ins and catchups to a degree that socialising with anyone other than church leaders becomes difficult, even expressly forbidden, recruitment materials show.
Cogin says while the ACU “respects all people’s right to their beliefs and freedoms”, the university is “concerned about any organisation that seeks to coerce and control its members and is secretive about its existence and motivations”.
Shincheonji Cult Abuse Coercion Recruitment
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