Gloriavale founder and leader until his death Hopeful Christian - real name Neville Cooper. Cooper was a convicted sex offender. Photo / TVNZ/Sunday
Gloriavale founder and leader until his death Hopeful Christian - real name Neville Cooper. Cooper was a convicted sex offender. Photo / TVNZ/Sunday
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 treated as "modern-day slaves" and were forced to work from a young age.
She 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.
Gloriavale founder and leader until his death Hopeful Christian - real name Neville Cooper. Cooper was a convicted sex offender. Photo / TVNZ/Sunday
The women say they were effectively born into and kept in "servitude" - which is illegal in New Zealand - and expected 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.
The case is expected to run for at least six weeks and a Givealittle page has been set up to help support the women and their families during the lengthy proceeding.
More than 600 people live at Gloriavale on the West Coast. Photo / George Heard
She spoke about bullying within the community which she claimed was rife.
"Bullying and mocking people at Gloriavale is such a part of the culture… you're so desensitised to it you don't even realise how wrong it is," she said.
"Hopeful was a bully and he bullied everybody… he mocked me for how I looked when I was pregnant, how I walked when I was heavily pregnant.
"It's such a part of their culture, it's ingrained in them - everybody does it, everybody saw it."
Women working within Gloriavale. Photo / TVNZ
She recalled senior women being equally as harsh.
After the birth of one of her babies, she was summoned from her work to go and breastfeed.
"Don't you take too long feeding that baby, you just do what you need to do and get back to that kitchen, it needs you," Courage recalled a senior woman telling her.
Courage went on to explain how the shepherds - a group of men charged with running Gloriavale - exerted "complete control" over the people, despite claiming no one had that level of power.
She said examples were shepherds ordering women to work in specific areas as "punishment".
While senior women could choose who worked on what "team" the shepherds could come and change things in an instant, Courage said.
"The children at Gloriavale, myself included, are raised with a real sense of obligation - you're told from real little that if Hopeful [Christian] hadn't set up the community… then you wouldn't have been born.
"You have this real sense that you're obligated to the community, you owe them something… you need to prove yourself, you need to give all you can.
"They've given you life…You get told that sacrificing yourself, working hard, putting down your flesh is what you have to do."
She claimed women were "obligate" to work even when they were sick and said she worked through pregnancies, bladder infections, severe sciatic nerve damage and after surgery.
She said there was no other option but to work - including when babies and children were unwell.
"There's a lot of focus on the work at Gloriavale... Howard [Temple, a shepherd] said 'we can't have mothers just deciding to stay home with their sick children'."
Courage also spoke of her experience of motherhood.
Her first 10 children were all born at Gloriavale and her 11th - Jonas, who she held as she gave evidence - was born "outside" just nine weeks ago.
"It's the easiest baby I've ever had," she explained.
"It's not even a concern for me to look after my other children or to keep my home.
"When you're in Gloriavale you have to routine your baby to fit in with the community's routine - I don't have to do that with Jonas… you're not trying to manipulate their sleeps… your feeds."
Chief Employment Court Judge Christina Inglis. Photo / George Heard
She recalled another leaver speaking to her while she was pregnant with Jonas about the birth of her own child - her 10th, born outside Gloriavale.
"She said 'Gin, you are going to love having your baby out here, don't be worried… I spend so much more time with mine than I ever did with my other children'," Courage told the court.
"I get to spend so much time with Jonas even though he's only nine weeks old… my other children say 'Mummy he's going to be spoilt but I tell them love and care doesn't spoil anyone ."
Earlier the court heard about girls and women 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".
Gloriavale lawyer Phillip Skelton QC said the community refuted the allegations and said the case was an example of "embittered" leavers trying to "blacken" the reputation of the sect.
