维多利亚州议会开展的调查发现，现有法律在保护邪教幸存者方面存在重大缺陷。[1]该调查基于291份提交意见和317份匿名问卷回应进行，其中包括幸存者的证词。[1]调查报告题为《越过底线：高度控制群体中的强制和伤害》，指出强制性群体常常规避强制报告义务。[1]
议会建议政府制定新的刑事立法，将基于群体的强制性胁迫行为定为犯罪。[1]建议的新法律定义明确了目标行为的界限——控制必须达到"足够全面或普遍的程度，以至于压制一个人独立生活、思考或行动的能力"。[1]报告同时建议政府在2029年2月前推出相关立法，并对儿童安全法、教育安排和慈善法等进行审查。[1]
心理学家Ahona Guha在证词中披露，她曾在17至23岁期间在邪教中生活。[1]此次调查源于2024年4月启动，由播客《Secrets We Keep: Pray Harder》和《The Age》报纸对Geelong Revival Centre的指控所引发。[1]
A Victorian parliamentary inquiry has concluded that current legislation does not adequately safeguard survivors of high-control groups, recommending the introduction of new criminal laws to address coercive practices based on group dynamics.[1] The investigation, titled "Crossing the Line: Coercion and Harm in High-Control Groups," drew on 291 submissions and 317 anonymous survey responses, including testimony from survivors.[1] The proposed legislation would define harmful coercion as control that reaches "a sufficiently comprehensive or pervasive degree as to suppress a person's capacity to live, think or act independently."[1]
The inquiry recommends that the government introduce the new legislation by February 2029 and conduct reviews of child safety laws, education arrangements, and charitable legislation.[1] The investigation was initiated in April following allegations raised in the podcast "Secrets We Keep: Pray Harder" and reporting by The Age regarding the Geelong Revival Centre.[1] According to the report, coercive groups commonly circumvent mandatory reporting obligations, leaving vulnerable individuals without protection under existing legal frameworks.[1]