Karen#1
Well-known member
My hell on board the Scientologist slave ship: British woman describes how she was 'given' to religious group aged 11 and suffered years of rape and abuse
Wrenched from her mother, denied an education and sent alone to perform hard labour aboard a ship in squalid conditions...that, Danielle Chamberlin claims, was the horrifying reality of her childhood inside Scientology.
Founded by American science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard, the controversial movement promises followers they can unlock their immortal potential and free themselves from the burdens of past trauma.
But while abuse in other religious institutions has been exposed through inquiries and investigations, Danielle says the mistreatment she suffered inside Scientology has remained largely hidden, with the Church working to silence critics and discredit survivors who speak out.
Now 64, Danielle has told the Daily Mail how she endured years of emotional and sexual abuse as a child inside Scientology, was subjected to life-threatening punishments ordered by Hubbard, and later watched helplessly as the movement denied her mother life-saving medical treatment.
Danielle was born in 1961 in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and spent her early childhood in South Africa, where her parents became heavily involved in Scientology.
After her father was expelled from Scientology for acting as a spy for South Africa's mental health organisation, her mother moved Danielle and her siblings to England.
Her father was declared a Suppressive Person, a term Scientology uses for someone it considers an 'antisocial personality' who seeks to 'harm, undermine or suppress other people or groups'.
Members are prohibited from maintaining contact with anyone given the label. As a result, Danielle lost almost all contact with her father.
READ MORE
My hell on board the Scientologist slave ship
