Abuse of Power
Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs continues to use his ecclesiastical power to impose tests of faith that inflict severe mental anguish on his followers. Granted, it’s no revelation that the convicted felon disregards the laws of the land – that’s why he’s in prison. But somehow, from prison, he was practically able to install his own totalitarian government and reign like a tyrannical dictator over a group of vulnerable, unprotected people. And he did it with the silent approval of officials. Signs There was a lot of religious nonsense during Jeff’s court proceedings, including the documents where, um, Jesus Christ weighed in...
Loyola Law Professor Dr. Kathleen Kim wrote a paper called “The Coercion of Trafficked Workers” describing labor settings where coercion is explicitly codified as a fundamental legal element in human-trafficking crimes. Although this paper is about using psychological means to hold immigrants hostage and achieve slave labor, the concepts can even be applied to adults in polygamy and other cults. The Coercion of Trafficked Workers Abstract: Enacted pursuant to the Thirteenth Amendment’s section 2 enforcement power, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (“TVPA”), criminalizes the use of psychological coercion to compel labor. The TVPA further aims to protect and provide...
It’s time to make something clear about polygamy and human trafficking. According to the Protocol on Human Trafficking adopted by the U.S., human trafficking can exist within an isolated community, or even a family for that matter. It does not require crossing borders between Canada and the U.S., or any other country. The definition does not require movement at all. What is does require is the abuse of power and the exploitation of a human being, particularly a vulnerable human being. Think about the circumstance where a prophet, an ecclesiastical leader with power far beyond the average minister or priest, arranges a “marriage”...
The public wonders how women could ever, in their right minds, join a polygamist cult. Janja Lalich says, “These people are no different than you and I, if you mean people who join these groups. According to all the studies, people who join these groups are above average intelligence, from stable backgrounds, they do not have any pre-existing psychological difficulties, or problems. But they were at a transition point in their lives, when perhaps they were not completely connected or totally fulfilled with what was going on at the time, and if there is any common thread or traits, it...
Anti-human trafficking blogger Amandar Kloer stirred up a cup of controversy when she expanded on Professor Marci Hamilton’s article suggesting that polygamy and prostitution had something in common: both include “populations of men who get away with raping, abusing, and degrading women, even in places where what they’re doing is illegal.” Some of the disagreeing comments that followed AMANDA’S BLOG, sent a chill down my spine. Here are two: “As an institution, marriage (and certainly multiple marriage) was begun out of times when they were subject to slavery and rape, not to exploit them.” “Comparing the obvious evils of forcing...
The Prophet James Harmston, a master at manipulating women through psychological coercion built on their own religious doctrines, threatened Rachael with an afterlife torment that included isolation from God and a fiery suffering far more excruciating than the curse of misery he pronounced on her for mortality if she didn’t join his harem. That is what Rachael’s clergy told her would happen when she resisted sexual relations with him. “Rachael, the facts are…the end is coming and judgment will be executed in severity, especially for those who have broken their covenants… I will deal with you in the future eternity.”...
By Uzma Mariam Ahmed, June 20, 2009 One of the primary reasons why Islam was revealed was to guarantee and clarify the important basic rights of women, and particularly their rights with regards to marriage, divorce, alimony, custody and related issues. We should not allow horrors such as sex trafficking, prostitution, and other sexually exploitative unions to hide within the guise of Islamic marriages. READ ARTICLE HERE...
Thousands of women in polygamy have been deeply damaged by the effects of polygamy, yet authorities look the other way, stating that with limited resources, their priority is to prosecute those who marry child brides. While this is understandable, where is the justice for women like Rachel Strong whose sexual perpetrator (her mother’s husband, her father figure and her prophet) used spiritual extortion to cause her to submit, threatening to damn her soul for all eternity if she did not? With rock solid evidence, authorities in Utah still looked the other way. Rachel, after all, should have known better. She...
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