Gloriavale women trapped in ‘misogynist’ community, Employment Court hears: RNZ

By Jean Edwards | RNZ |

Gloriavale women were entrapped, enslaved and lived in servitude at the “misogynist” Christian community, the Employment Court has heard.

Barrister Brian Henry used his closing submission in the long-running hearing to claim Gloriavale was forced by its growth to turn to child labour, denying members freedom, choice and a voice.

Chief judge Christina Inglis reserved her decision in the case, which seeks to determine whether six former Gloriavale women were employees, rather than volunteers.

Henry said the women he represented were destined to a life of drudgery on the community’s domestic teams from the day they were born.

“These women are dominated from birth, they are controlled from birth. The moment they were born, there was a pathway for them to work on the teams,” he said.

“The moment the shepherds decided they would entrap children, they would line out a path of child labour, they would line out a path of working for nothing more than your keep, they became slaves.

Further reading: Gloriavale women trapped in ‘misogynist’ community