Newshub: Former Glorivale member says daughter with brain damage suffered injuries due to work conditions

September 22, 2022: By Juliet Speedy | Newshub | A Gloriavale leaver told the Employment Court the plight of women who remain in the community is of serious concern to him, both because of unwanted touching and an unsustainable workload with pressure from the leaders. John Ready said if the women stopped working,…

1News – Brutal work conditions inside Gloriavale laid bare in court

September 8, 2022: By Ryan Boswell – 1News – 08/09/2022 Brutal work conditions inside Gloriavale have been the focus of evidence at the Employment Court in Christchurch. Rebekah Kempf was born at the commune and left with her family in 2015. She is the great granddaughter of Gloriavale’s founder, Hopeful Christian, and told…

Newshub – Former Gloriavale members say they were called ‘too fat’, ‘talentless’ by leaders

September 7, 2022: By Kaysha Brownlie – Newshub – 07/09/2022 “No talent” and “too fat” to be a Christian – this is what a former Gloriavale member says leaders told her. Rebekah Kempf was giving evidence at the Employment Court case in Christchurch, where current members deny the work is not forced. “I…

1News – Gloriavale man says discipline with weapons common practice

September 6, 2022: By Ryan Boswell – 1News – 06/09/2022 A Gloriavale man who disciplined his daughters using a weapon argues it is common practice in the West Coast commune. Clem Ready is giving evidence at the Employment Court to decide whether six former Gloriavale members were employees or volunteers. He said men…

Newshub – Gloriavale member temporarily left community after leadership’s comment on his dead daughter ‘shook’ him

September 6, 2022: By Kaysha Brownlie – Newshub – 06/09/2022 A former Glorivale member who still resides in the isolated West Coast community has given emotional evidence about how, among the things he witnessed in the Christian commune, his daughter’s death hurt him the most. Clem Ready was giving evidence during an Employment…

Longtime Gloriavale member turns on sect – reveals ‘very disturbing’ treatment of women, ‘prevalent’ sex offending

September 6, 2022: By Anna Leask | NZ Herald | A Gloriavale father of 13 once convicted of beating two of his young daughters with shoes, carpentry tools, coat hangers and belts has turned on the community’s leaders, telling the court that sexual abuse, bullying and forced labour are prevalent within the sect.…

1News – Gloriavale residents told ‘they owe their life’ to commune

September 5, 2022: By Ryan Boswell – 1News – 05/09/2022 Gloriavale members grow up being told they owe their life to the West Coast commune, the Employment Court has been told. Virginia Courage is one of six former female members arguing that they should’ve been treated as employees, rather than volunteers at Gloriavale.…

‘Hopeful Christian was a bully’ – Gloriavale leaver blasts ‘ingrained’ culture of mocking, belittling at Christian community

September 5, 2022: By Anna Leask | NZ Herald | A mum-of-11 who escaped Gloriavale says the community’s founder Hopeful Christian was “a bully” and his cruel treatment of people became “ingrained” in the whole population. Virginia Courage is part of an Employment Court case against the Christian community – alleging women are…

Former Gloriavale resident describes culture of bullying and mocking inside the community

September 5, 2022: By Kaysha Brownlie | Newshub | A former Gloriavale resident has told the Employment Court in Christchurch there was a culture of bullying and mocking inside the community. Virginia Courage is one of six women fighting to prove they were employees rather than volunteers at the commune. Courage’s life outside the…