ICSA CONFERENCE 2026
Date: July 1-4, 2026
This presentation explores how forced labor provisions within U.S. human trafficking law can be applied to cultic contexts where unpaid or underpaid work is extracted through coercion, psychological control, and threats of harm. Carol Merchasin examines how legal frameworks such as forced labor statutes and Civil RICO can expose patterns of economic exploitation that often remain hidden behind religious or ideological structures. Attendees will gain insight into emerging legal approaches that may offer new avenues for accountability and justice in cases of coercive control.
Full Abstract
Cults often cause profound harm that does not fit neatly into existing civil or criminal laws because legal systems often fail to recognize the effects of coercion. U.S. human trafficking law, on the other hand, has been increasingly used to address sexual abuse in cultic settings because it recognizes that coercion negates consent to sex. But the application of trafficking law does not end there.
Forced labor claims are a component of the U.S. human trafficking framework that remain under-recognized in cultic contexts. Forced labor claims can apply to situations in which individuals are pressured to work through psychological control and threats of serious harm (including non-physical harm). These dynamics closely mirror how many cults extract unpaid or underpaid labor, often framed as “selfless service” or spiritual obligation for the benefit of leaders or affiliated entities.
Forced labor claims can also open the door to another powerful U.S. law commonly known as Civil RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act), which allows courts to examine patterns of exploitation across leadership, related entities, and financial structures rather than treating harm as a series of isolated incidents. This “follow the money” lens shifts the focus from belief or doctrine to economic reality, making systemic exploitation legally visible in ways individual claims often cannot.
By focusing on coercion, labor extraction, and economic benefit—rather than beliefs or theology—both forced labor and Civil RICO attach meaningful financial consequences to coercive systems that have long escaped accountability.
Speakers
Of Counsel McAllister Olivarius | President of ICSA Board of Directors
Carol Merchasin is an attorney and human rights advocate whose work focuses on coercive control, religious freedom, human trafficking, and accountability within high-control groups. She has represented survivors of abuse and exploitation in a range of legal contexts and is widely recognized for her efforts to advance legal protections for individuals harmed by coercive systems. Her work explores the intersection of human rights law, trafficking legislation, and cultic studies, with particular attention to how existing legal frameworks can be used to address exploitation, forced labor, and other forms of abuse. A long-time advocate for survivors, she currently serves as President of the ICSA Board of Directors.
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