“There are many people who must be removed from there because what is happening is crazy“. The speaker is Juantxo Domínguez, president of the Network for the Prevention of Sectarianism and the Abuse of Weakness (RedUNE), the organization that this Thursday delivered more than 300,000 signatures to request what they consider a necessity: that coercive persuasion, popularly known as brainwashing, be criminalized.
In a telephone conversation with 20 minutes, Domínguez assures that the proposal is fully Spanish and that it “investigates abuse by people who They take advantage of the situation of weakness of some individuals, in the sphere of a couple, work or economy, among others. “In the Spanish case, groups that are commonly known as sects. However, this word has fallen into disuse, since people use it with a religious connotation, something that does not have to be related. We prefer to talk about a coercive group, a much broader term,” he says. the president of the organizationwhich for years has been dedicated to helping people who have been psychologically manipulated by sects, couples or in the workplace.
Furthermore, he maintains that both the National Police like the Civil Guard are increasingly dismantling these criminal groups, “groups that have been living in a oasis of absolute impunity for many years, like some groups of Jehovah’s Witnessesof cryptocurrencies or clairvoyants”.
Regarding the process, Domínguez assures that going through a situation of manipulation destabilizes in such a way that reporting produces a “atrocious fear”. For this reason, RedUNE has been the association that has reported in the last two years many of the cases about which they had sufficient information and testimonies. “If it is not reported, the Police do not investigate, and if it is not investigated, these groups will continue to be active.”
“There are many groups that have been reporting for 20-25 years, which maintain that the complaining victims are of legal age and that there has been no manipulation of decisions that have been their own. When you are inside, You are not aware of the manipulation to which you are exposed and the dependency that has been created in you. until you click and see the real situation,” he adds.
One of the most important parts of the process has been the judicial one, since as Domínguez confirms, “the Supreme Court of Justice has ruled that it must and must be legislated this matter” since “there are many people who must be removed from there.” In addition, he maintains that the law is very worked and elaborated at a judicial and psychological level. The annexation of the article to the Penal Code would mean protection for the victims and a legal resource before the Police in the form of a complaint through testimonies or conversations, among other evidence.
Stop taking medication to cure cancer
Among all the ideas presented by this type of groups, which use weaknesses or vulnerable situations as a health issue, there are cases in which patients have been convinced of cancer to stop taking the medication. “Some groups incite stop taking medication to cure cancera disease that could be cured with its supposed therapy groups. They even convince you to leave your family and move with them and thus accelerate the healing,” explains the president of the NGO.
Domínguez confessed that he finds it very curious little information available at the political level on coercive manipulation. “It’s something quite unknown to them,” he commented, ensuring that both the People’s Party like him Socialist party and Add They had received their proposal in Congress. Despite the little information that exists in society on this matter, he believes that they have “enough national and international resources for people to realize that this is a type of crime.”
The beginning of the 300,000 signatures that have been deposited in Congress was “some time ago”, when RedUNE was aware that there was no jurisprudence in these situations. “When the case of Patricia Aguilar we get a lot of visibility because it was crazy. The signatures are fundamentally from those affected, thanks also to more NGOs that have contributed their bit,” he added.
Although it could be a much longer path than it seems, the groups that have fought to classify this manipulation as a crime have a very hopeful outlook. “We have said that we want this matter to be on the political agenda, we must give it time, but the train is already on the rail“.
One of the most notorious cases in Spain was that of Patricia Aguilar, the young woman from Elche who was recruited by Félix Steven Manrique when she was only 16 years old. Your cousin, Noelia Bru has assured this medium that the problem of coercive persuasion is “very complex” and that it is “full of nuances that make it Each case is unique and the same approach does not work for everyone.“.
“Having legislation against coercive persuasion would be a great tool in many cases, not only from the punitivist point of view focused only on persecuting groups, but it should incorporate resources to help victims“, sentence. Likewise, Noelia maintains that it is “very important” to contact professionals who are experts in the matter, associations or people who have suffered a similar situation.
“Understand what has happened and feel accompanied during the process, It is essential to face the situation. Unfortunately, these types of groups will not cease to exist, but obviously the more resources to help victims exist, the less helpless we will be,” he concludes.
‘Social death’ or ‘ostracism’
The Spanish Association of Victims of Jehovah’s Witnesses is one of the groups that have joined the fight to classify and include this crime in the Penal Code. Israel Florezspokesperson for the Association, has assured this medium that the objective is “to be able to go to court and that the Judge does not say that the victim acted of his own willbut rather acted out of manipulation and vulnerability.”
“Politicians are the ones who have to create these laws. Now is the time in which we are going to have to sit down with them to explain the reasons, the situations they are experiencing and so on.” From the Association of Victims of Jehovah’s Witnesses They have been asking for this crime to be prosecuted for decades. “It was in 1971 when the Jehovah’s Witnesses were legally established in Spain and their notoriety came in 2006, since then there are many of us who have experienced the well-known ‘social death’ or ‘ostracism’“explains Flórez.
This means that when one wants to leave the Witnesses or is kicked out, both his friends and family will subject him to a kind of banishment and cut off all types of relationship and communication with this person. “We can say that they break familiessince every member is obliged to deal only with Jehovah’s Witnesses, with no one else,” he adds, while ensuring that getting out of there is very hard. “You see yourself in solitude and the most absolute emptiness“he details.
Despite his experience in this area, Domínguez continues to wonder how it is possible that despite the pain that a person suffers within and upon leaving this group, the leadership continues to attribute all responsibility to the victim, maintaining that Every decision has been individual and personal. “Then what the judge has seen is that 100% of the people who denounce this manipulation, assure that their closest circle, family and friends, have stopped talking to them and treating them, so now This is not an isolated case.“, he says. Furthermore, the problem with this type of persuasion is that “there are many people inside right now who want to leave and cannot.” In this case, the victims of Jehovah’s Witnesses are promised a paradise and a life ideal in exchange for abiding by an internal regulation that must be complied with “to the letter”.
Cases of manipulation “will be reduced”
Faced with the possibility of achieving its objective and classifying coercive persuasion as a crime, Flórez believes that “cases of manipulation will be greatly reduced because they will think twice.” “Very likely, some religious organizations will have to change their regulations and dogmas because they are against the Spanish Constitution and the laws,” he adds, while emphasizing that this reform will be “very positive towards Spanish society, towards the people who suffer these manipulations and even towards their families, who They will finally be able to report these facts before a court”.
“I think what we should be taught from a young age is that, even if we are or are in a vulnerable situation, we have to be prepared to face to any type of person or organization that can take advantage of us and control our mind and, above all, our life,” he concludes.
