Gloriavale is on notice now
Investigators from the Charities Service have provided a public service by forcing changes in the way that the isolated and exclusive Christian community known as Gloriavale is governed. A report on their 18-month inquiry has also helped open up Gloriavale to welcome public scrutiny.
However, worries remain that members of the community at Haupiri on the West Coast, including children, are unsafe.
The investigation found patterns of behaviour which amounted to ‘‘serious wrongdoing’’ under the broad terms of the Charities Act. The service has now imposed new reporting standards and other requirements on the Christian Church Community Trust which runs Gloriavale, with a warning that it might reopen its inquiry if these are not met.
The report delved into allegations of physical and sexual abuse at Gloriavale, financial irregularities, forced marriages, forced separation of families, and the controlling environment imposed on members. Attention has focused on allegations outlined in the report, made by ‘‘a number’’ of community members – five former members who have left, and two women from outside the community – that they had been sexually assaulted at Gloriavale.
The report suggests that a particular person is behind this. Trust board head Fervent Stedfast maintained this week, however, that ‘‘there is not a sexual predator at Gloriavale’’. It is hard to reconcile the two positions. Until this issue is cleared up, the wider public should remain concerned about the safety of vulnerable people in the Gloriavale community. Police have confirmed that an investigation is continuing into allegations of offending. No charges have been laid.
Allegations of sexual crimes must always be investigated thoroughly, and the material contained in the Charities Service report stops a long way short of a judicial standard of proof.
However, sex crimes have plagued religious or isolated communities in the past, sometimes causing catastrophic damage to people’s lives. At Gloriavale, it is concerning that community leaders have used internal processes to deal with sex abuse complaints without immediately calling in outside agencies or police. Similar processes in other religious institutions have only served to cover up wrongdoing and prolong the agony of the victims.
The Charities Service initiated its investigation because it has powers to do so under its own legislation if it believes a registered charity is working against the public interest, or if there appear to be financial or governance irregularities. It is laudable that the service took on a difficult job which has now had the effect of bringing Gloriavale more clearly into the scope of other agencies. The service has passed on information to the police, the Ministry of Education, the Labour Inspectorate and the Ministry for Social Development.
The Charities Service reports that Gloriavale trustees have agreed to stop opening bank accounts for community members without their consent, and a directive has gone out to families to stop smacking children. Parenting programmes have been implemented and two outsiders will now attend trust board meetings.
Despite Stedfast’s assertion that ‘‘we don’t have to make changes’’, Gloriavale elders, who control more than $40 million worth of assets, should consider themselves on notice if they want to continue enjoying the tax benefits of charitable status.
The Charities Service is to be commended for taking the lead in holding Gloriavale’s leaders to account.