Victorian inquiry on cults leaks survivors' email addresses, sparking safety fears

After a year-long investigation into cult recruitment and harm, Victoria's Legislative Assembly Legal and Social Issues Committee published its final recommendations, but mistakenly attached a list of 330 email addresses to the distribution. The list contained contacts of survivors and witnesses who had submitted evidence, some of whom had asked to remain anonymous. Survivors, including Alex Belle of Survivors of Coercive Cults and High Control Groups and Ryan Carey of Stop Religious Coercion Australia, expressed deep distress, fearing that their former abusers could now identify them.

Committee chair Ella George apologized, labeling the incident an unacceptable privacy breach and said a comprehensive review of the committee’s processes would follow. Advocates like Patrick McIvor highlighted the need for a dedicated commissioner to manage group-based coercion and address systemic failures. The report itself proposes 39 reforms, including outlawing coercive control in group settings, but the leak threatens to undermine survivor confidence in governmental protections.