Gloriavale site visit planned for Chief Employment Court Judge during next phase of ‘servitude’ trial between leavers and Christian community

By Anna Leask | NZ Herald |

The judge presiding over an Employment Court trial between Gloriavale leavers and the current community will visit the secretive Christian community next month.

Last year a group of six women raised in the infamous and isolated West Coast religious group claimed they were effectively born into and kept in “servitude”.

Rose Standtrue, Pearl Valor, Serenity Pilgrim, Anna Courage, Crystal Loyal and Virginia Courage gave emotional evidence in court – along with family members supporting them – to prove their case.

The trial follows a similar action by a group of former Gloriavale men who the court ruled were employees from when they were just 6 years old, regularly undertaking “strenuous, difficult, and sometimes dangerous” work when they were still legally required to be at school.