Carol Merchasin

We'd all like to think we'd be immune to joining a cult - but we'd be wrong. I talk to @_indoctrination, @LetsTlkAbtSects, @GenerationCult, @WasIInACultPod, The Bad Buddhist and others about how to leave and how to get justice. Listen here: open.spotify.com/playlist/103aB…

A cult is a community that can never allow failure or error. A woman is dead, a man has confessed to her murder and ritual assault and yet the IHOP mother church's main concern is "lack of zeal". theatlantic.com/national/archi…

What sort of litigation can former cult members bring against their abusers? In this throwback to S. 3 (2023), we speak to an attorney @CarolMerchasin who does this work *New S. 4 episode coming soon! Season 3, Ep 10 Cults and Courts youtu.be/3bkLIvmqyGQ?si… via @YouTube

@RollingsFilms Every aspect is familiar to me from my cases, from the structure of the cult, framing the abuse as "the children's choice" to victims being let down the police again and again. Always happy to chat if you are interested in a follow up on what justice looks like for survivors.

"Yes, we’re afraid, but kids who grew up in a cult have already experienced the worst day of their life in some way. Now, we want to taste life." Life, and sometimes justice and compensation. My clients are some of the strongest people you'll ever meet. independent.co.uk/life-style/chi…

@AnnOlivarius @ICSA_Home Too many people think that "trafficking" means "bundled blindfolded into a van crossing state lines". That is not how judges have consistently interpreted the TVPA. The key concept is consent, not geography.

My excellent colleague @CarolMerchasin is live at the @ICSA_Home Conference explaining how we use trafficking legislation in new and groundbreaking ways to bring justice to cult survivors. You can follow along on our instagram @https://www.instagram.com/mcallisterolivarius/

In the week since our investigation into spiking, we have received an extraordinary response from readers, writing to tell us what happened to them, their friends or family. Every phone call floored me. Here are some of them – with @NCherruault thetimes.co.uk/article/robbed…

It's not like women collectively forget to put on our hard hats and that's why we get raped, stalked, assaulted and beaten up. Women don't need (another) "women's safety plan". We need a "men's violence plan".

Michael O'Keefe left the Zen priesthood not because he experienced the kind of abuse my clients often have. He left because he experienced the kind of lying and manipulation that make abuse possible in the first place. Stunning piece @tricyclemag tricycle.org/magazine/zen-p…

Our client Ashley Grace filed her suit, because she realised could do what her students so often couldn't - “To me, it’s more about standing behind what I so deeply believe, which is that you don’t get to do this to other people,” @eshugerman thedailybeast.com/ashley-grace-w…

And he called it "The Love Album" Last month's @Businessweek piece about Sean Combs' downfall Free link tinyurl.com/bdhcbtyd with comments from @AnnOlivarius @devinleonard @daniellesacks

"As a Catholic organisation, Gris is not opposed to exorcisms if they are carried out by the church." The Catholic Church struggles to maintain its monopoly on exorcisms, precisely because a belief in actual demons is such a powerful cultish practice. thetimes.co.uk/article/father…

Very proud of our clients, and looking forward to bring Michael Shoemaker and The Movement Center to justice. Listen to @ThomasShults_ excellent and sensitive reporting at @KGWNews

I see this tactic so often - our clients have been blamed and made to feel like their abuse was their own fault.

I have a number of cases under the New York City Council law @willpavia mentions, The New York Gender Motivated Violence Act. The ASA kicked in a door, and our clients are still walking through it. thetimes.co.uk/article/our-ra…

Please join us on March 10th 2024: youtube.com/watch?v=RYxmFd… If you have suffered in a Buddhist organisation, you have options and you are not alone.

"‘What’s interesting is seeing the parallels between cult life and how we survive toxic behaviour. What I see in the corporate world is people doing similar things like giving up their own values in favour of survival and getting paid.’" Indeed. metro.co.uk/2024/01/29/bor…

"The Truth" follows the same play book as so many of the spiritual communities we hold to account for sexual abuse (12 and counting). I wish healing and justice for the survivors, whatever that looks like to them. Stunning reporting by @GeorgeWright89. bbc.com/news/world-us-…

"My dad had fear, constant fear. He was very afraid that someone would speak up," All cult leaders have this fear. That's why every cult dynamic aims to control who can speak and who can be believed. bbc.com/news/world-afr…

@matthewremski If you want to "save" anyone, start by treating them as equals.

Everybody wants to #savethechildren, says our correspondent Esme Providence Brown. But few will reckon with how grandiose, white knight "salvation" movements have created a lot of harm while failing in their mission of "liberation.” conspirituality.net/episodes/188-e…

Pressler enjoyed robust institutional support and complicity from SBC. SBC should ask what it should do about the entire culture and hierarchy that allowed Pressler to abuse with impunity for decades. The man was nothing without the church. baptistnews.com/article/what-t…