Pearl Valor spoke in court about her lifelong pain due to not seeking medical treatment for fear of being humiliated publicly by the leaders of Gloriavale. Video / NZ Herald
A mum-of-11 who escaped the Gloriavale and is part of an Employment Court case against the Christian community - alleging women are treated as "modern-day slaves" - is calling on Kiwis for help.
Virginia Courage and fellow leavers Pearl Valor, Serenity Pilgrim, Rose Standtrue, Anna Courage and Crystal Loyal are fighting for a legal ruling that they were employees and not volunteers during their time at Gloriavale.
Pearl Valor giving evidence in the Employment Court. She is one of six women in a case against Gloriavale who they say forced the into servitude. Photo / George Heard
The women say they were effectively born into and kept in "servitude" - which is illegal in New Zealand - forced to work long days in physically demanding jobs often with no breaks and very little food or water.
Their case follows a similar action in the Employment Court by a group of former Gloriavale men whom the court ruled were employees from when they were just 6 years old.
This week Pilgrim, Valor and Standtrue have given evidence at the hearing before Chief Employment Court Judge Christina Inglis.
Virginia Courage is scheduled to take the stand today or tomorrow.
The Gloriavale Christian community is on the West Coast and is home to about 600 people. Photo / George Heard
Virginia Courage set up a Givealittle page in a bid to alleviate the financial stress on the women and their families.
She hoped people would donate $10,000. So far more than $2600 had been raised.
"Funds are urgently needed to support the leavers in this epic battle," Virginia Courage said on the Givealittle page.
"Many of my family and friends are involved in this court case.
"[Money] will be used for the associated costs of fighting for justice… it's a long trial and there is a lot of travel, accommodation, counselling, babysitting and food costs for the large number of witnesses."
Chief Employment Court Judge Christina Inglis. Photo / George Heard
Courage and her husband David have 11 children, the youngest a baby.
They left Gloriavale two and a half years ago.
"I was always concerned about the dangerous work environment, and the injuries my girls and others suffered in the kitchen and laundry at Gloriavale," she explained on the Givealittle page.
"The girls were working gruelling hours, without adequate breaks and holidays and no pay.
"For decades young girls have done very early morning starts - 3-4am - and very long day and three of my own sisters suffered terrible workplace injuries with burned feet and inadequate after-care."
She hoped people would help to support the women involved in the case.
"Help us improve the lives of people who have left Gloriavale, and for those who are still inside," she said.
Pilgrim, Standtrue and Valor this week spoke of their experience at Gloriavale.
All three were born into the community but have left in the past few years.
Rose Standtrue gave harrowing evidence about her time living at Gloriavale. Photo / NZH
They spoke of being put to work from a young age, waking early in the morning to work, a lack of education, dental and medical care, being forced to marry and bear children and not having any choice in their lives.
They spoke of fearing the community's shepherds and leaders - who they say would tell them off and "shame" them if they did not work to an exacting standard or made mistakes.
Standtrue also spoke of regular "unwanted attention" including inappropriate touching and abuse from men towards single young women in the community and the "physical and mental pressure of having to conform".
"I felt so trapped, I was trying to tell my parents I needed to get out," she said.
"My parents told me to forgive and forget about what happened to me in there and just move on - but you can't move on when you know it's going to just happen again.
"I just wanted my life to be over… I wanted to commit suicide because I was depressed and had PTSD, I felt that was the only way to get out of Gloriavale because I wasn't allowed to leave."
Members of Gloriavale will also give evidence during the Employment Court case. Photo / George Heard
Standtrue said her parents and 10 younger siblings remained at Gloriavale and she worried about them - and the other single women.
"I was always taught and believed that if I left I was going to hell," she said.
"There was a lot of pressure not to leave, I knew if I left I would be cut off from my family and they would shun me."
She said repeatedly she had "no choices" at Gloriavale.
"If you say no you are taken to a shepherd's meeting and made to feel bad," she said.
"You were told you were going to hell for not being willing to do what God wants you to do… I didn't feel I had any choices but to say yes."
"There was a saying 'you don't - you don't eat'... There was always pressure to show up on time, be early, work hard, work harder, don't eat just work."
"That is that nature of the place - they trust you to have children but not to bring back change."
She said later that being at Gloriavale "wasn't living - it's existing".
"I truly and honestly thought that all the work I did for Gloriavale amounted to the food they fed me.... they robbed me."
Pilgrim said there were only ever two options at Gloriavale for women - "work or get in trouble".
Serenity Pilgrim in court this week. Photo / George Heard
"We had no choices … none, we went to work every day," she said in her evidence.
"You just sucked it up. There was never an option of being sick. You just got used to it and that's what you did.
"As I got older there was more work, more responsibilities, you were expected to grow up, be an adult… even if you don't think you have to handle it, you just have to do it.
"There was no downtime, no time for me to do what I wanted to do. There was just work all the time."
The case continues and the court will hear from other women who have left Gloriavale and their family members.
Women still living at the secretive West Coast commune will also speak about their experience of work and life there.
Gloriavale lawyer Phillip Skelton QC said the community and leaders rejected any claims by leavers of forced labour, servitude or slavery.
He said the allegations were simply an attempt by "embittered" former residents to "blacken" the reputation of Gloriavale and paint its people "in a bad light".
