Lambeth slavery case - understanding victims

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Today a leader of a Maoist cult who kept his daughter captive for 30 years under a rein of terror was convicted of four charges of rape, false imprisonment and child cruelty.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015 ... ld-cruelty
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambeth_slavery_case

What is bizarre is Josephine Herivel the one that initially made the call to the charity that helped rescue them, is now maintaining Aravindan Balakrishnan's innocence. She stood up after his conviction and said: “You are sending an innocent man to prison. Shame on you.”

You could say this is classic Stockholm Syndrome or Traumatic bonding. that may the case. On the other hand it has been two years and she has had psychatric assessment. It may also be out of pure fear. There is some evidence she belived Aravindan Balakrishnan professed super natural powers.

Channel 4 News just interviewed her it is too early to put the interview up but I will do when it is available on 4oD (for UK viewers)

Third world immigrants, doing the jobs the natives won't.

Looking at the body language of Josephine when she was interviewed, her eyes basically stared ahead the whole time she spke is a slow voice. She was not noticeably anxious. Answer were a bit vague.

She didn't provide a very convincing purpose of this cult other than "to do good" and this was a stock answer used a number of times.

She said she believed in this "Jackie" mind control creature.

For UK viewers
http://www.channel4.com/news/catch-up/d ... ref/041215

I kind of don't know what to think about this.

Except it is the power of conditioning.

I symapthise to an extent. If she called for help, on some level she must have know it was wrong. Even if she didn't think she was oppressed, she was doing so on behalf of the other women.

Now everything she has known for the last 30 years is over.

Only the other hand there could have been a completely different motivation, it could be to do with hierarchy or any number of reasons.

What is interesting Aravindan Balakrishnan made them write meticulous diaries of their abuse. You can't get better evidence than that.

It is not smart on one level, but it very sadistic. It is about having total control.

I agree with your concept of conditioning and it is remarkable. None of the women seem to have been physically restrained or actually locked in the building which seems to mean they could have left at any time but were stopped by their fears.

One thing we must recognise is abuse in inter-generational. Some politically correct thinking on the matter isn't helpful becuase it underplays this, when this is a significant risk.

People who have been through abuse, not always can seek out abusive relationships, even become abusers themselves.

I would hazard a guess that is more likely the greater the duration an intensity of the abuse and the extent that this dominates their life day to day.

It is a gradual process.

The Maoist political group is a focus, where he can start a collective then gradually isolate people from the rest of the world, and replace their understanding of the real world with something else.

The stuff like "Jackie" that is the next stage. That is about about control and being worshiped.

I'm skeptical to the extent he believed in his ideology, especially supernatural stuff.

There's an article here claiming exclusive interview with Ms Herivel which you may have seen already: Telegraph

She is not really making a great deal of sense. However it is clear that the victim's disability was used as a reason to keep them more isolated.