Wednesday, 29 July 2026

 Ella GEORGE (Lara) (10:56): I rise today to make a contribution on the Legislative Assembly Legal and Social Issues Committee’s report Coercion and Harm in High-Control Groups: Inquiry into the Recruitment Methods and Impacts of Cults and Organised Fringe Groups. It has been a privilege to chair this committee and guide this inquiry since March last year. Over the past months I have heard the experiences of hundreds of Victorians who have been impacted by the insidious behaviour of coercive high-control groups. We heard evidence from ordinary Victorians from every corner of our state: from young students who were recruited on their university campuses; from adults who were born into high-control groups that their parents were members of and had no say in joining; from people who were recruited in a time of vulnerability and coerced into joining a group and giving up their lives; and from Victorians whose family members were recruited, cut off from the people they love, unable to make contact, unable to help. Through 291 submissions, 317 responses to an anonymous online questionnaire and eight days of hearings, the committee heard this devastating evidence. That is hundreds of Victorians who have lived experience of coercive high-control groups, either directly or through someone they cared about. And for many this inquiry was the first time their experiences had been formally heard and acknowledged.

We heard evidence that I will never forget. We heard about the deep and long-lasting harms caused by coercive high-control groups, and after considering the evidence we made a number of findings. We found that psychological harm is the most prevalent and enduring impact of coercive high-control groups. We found that many groups use physical and sexual violence and abuse. We found that women and girls experience distinct and disproportionate harm, and we found that the impacts on children are devastating. The harm caused to children in coercive high-control groups is serious and often lifelong. Children born into these groups do not consent to join or participate in the group and they have no real ability to leave.

This evidence speaks for itself, and it makes one thing clear: more must be done to protect Victorians, particularly young Victorians, from the harms of coercive high-control groups. The committee’s 98 ‍findings and 39 recommendations chart a pathway for the Victorian government to better support people who have been part of coercive high-control groups and better protect Victorians from harm. This includes a recommendation to review legislative options to criminalise group-based coercion in Victorian law.

The evidence we heard was not all bad. We met the most incredible survivors who now dedicate their lives to helping others. They are bringing hope. They are shining a light on a pathway out for people who are members of coercive high-control groups and want to get out. Our first recommendation recognises the role that lived experience plays in all future policy reform by recommending that the Victorian government establish a formal lived experience advisory group.

I wish to thank my fellow committee members: the deputy chair and member for Euroa, the member for Geelong, the member for Eildon, the member for Werribee, the member for Prahran, the member for Clarinda and former committee member the member for Bayswater. I thank them for their contribution to this inquiry.

I also wish to thank the committee secretariat – Jess, Caitlin, Dani and Imogen – for their dedication to this important work. To every Victorian who made a submission, thank you. We could not have written this report without the deeply thoughtful and considered evidence put forward, and I thank them for their trust in the committee and their trust in this process. People came forward not for recognition, but to help others and ensure that no-one else experiences the same harm. This generosity of purpose has been central to the inquiry and underpins our findings and recommendations. To those who did not share their experiences but wanted to, the committee recognises the harms you have experienced and the impact of coercive high-control groups on your lives. I hope that this inquiry is an important step in healing. I hope that this inquiry’s work will prevent further harm, and I hope that this inquiry’s report sends a clear message to those currently within coercive environments: that support is available and there is a pathway out to safety. I commend the report, its findings and the recommendations to the Parliament.