The Victorian Legislative Assembly Legal and Social Issues Committee has published their final reports from the Parliamentary Inquiry into the recruitment methods and impacts of cults and organised fringe groups, which commenced in April 2025. There are two parts, Volume 1: ‘Crossing the line’ and Volume 2: ‘In their words’. They set out 39 Recommendations which the Victorian Government now has six months to respond to. In this interview episode, lead author of the Beyond Belief submission and advocate Patrick McIvor shares his insights into the landmark report which includes a recommendation of criminalising group-based coercive control, and what the next steps will be.
Links
Credits:
Produced by Sarah Steel
Music by Joe Gould
You can support Let's Talk About Sects here. Sarah will be appearing at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas in Sydney on Saturday 22 August, chairing Anke Richter's session which also features Laura McConnell, more info about that here. And Joe Gould who you'll know as the composer of this podcast is touring with his band The Crooked Fiddle Band for their 20th anniversary – they count Brian Eno amongst their fans. More info about that here.
If you have been personally affected by involvement in a cult, or would like to support those who have been, you can find support with or donate to Cult Information and Family Support if you’re in Australia (via cifs.org.au), and you can find resources outside of Australia with the International Cultic Studies Association (via internationalculticstudies.org). If you or someone you know is in crisis or needs support right now, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 in Australia, or find your local crisis centre via the International Association for Suicide Prevention website at iasp.info. Find Sarah's audiobook Do As I Say here.
","author_name":"Sarah Steel"}