Draft:Laura McConnell
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Laura McConnell, also known as Laura McConnell Conti, is an Australian advocate, author, speaker, and podcaster. She was raised by The Truth, also known as the Two by Twos. McConnell shares her experiences from the group and her departure from it in Australian media. These experiences have shaped her advocacy as she has spoken publicly about high-control groups and their coercive measures, including the various experiences of people who left these groups.[1][2]
Early life
[edit]McConnell grew up in the Truth (Two by Twos), in a farming community between far western New South Wales[3][4] and rural northern Victoria.[5] She is a fifth-generation member of the group on one side of her family and a third-generation member on the other.[1][6] She left the group in 1999, at age 19.
McConnell revealed the main factors in her departure: the group's expectations concerning marriage, childbearing and sexuality. She subsequently became estranged from family members who remained part of the group.[2][7]
McConnell recalled the limitations for women in the group, including restrictions on clothing, jewellery and personal appearance. She also remembered the maternal expectations in childbearing and hosting travelling clergy.[8]
Career and education
[edit]McConnell holds a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese Language and Women's/Feminist Studies as well as a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and Finance. She is a Chartered Accountant (CA), a Certified Practising Accountant (CPA), and has Australian Institute of Company Directors accreditation.[6]
After leaving The Truth, McConnell worked in the finance sector for approximately 17 years before co-founding social enterprise #GoKindly with David Conti in 2018.[9][10] As co-founder of #GoKindly, McConnell had a special role in developing the company's pillow recycling program, which launched in 2022.[11] She received a Good Design GOLD Award for Product Design and Innovation, as designer of the #GoKindly Signature Pillow in 2024.[12][13]
She joined the board of Juno, a Victorian specialist women's homelessness and family violence service, in the 2023–24 financial year and sits on the board of Wellsprings for Women.[14]
Advocacy and public policy involvement
[edit]McConnell actively participates in the Victorian Cult Survivors Network, a community of survivor advocates from various high-control groups. It was established in connection to the Victorian parliamentary inquiry into cults and organised fringe groups.[15][16]
In April 2025, McConnell shared her departure in The Truth (Two by Twos) at the age of 19 to Women's Agenda and the gendered coercive control in high-control religious communities, including restrictions on sexuality, marriage, and financial independence for women.[2]
McConnell made a written submission to the Victorian Legislative Assembly's Legal and Social Issues Committee inquiry into the recruitment methods and impacts of cults and organised fringe groups, dated 27 June 2025. Later, she gave oral evidence to the committee at a public hearing on 13 October 2025. McConnell reiterated the experiences and mental health impacts of people who had left high-control groups, including her own experience of complex post-traumatic stress disorder.[17][18] The committee's final report, Coercion and Harm in High Control Groups, was tabled in the Legislative Assembly on 29 July 2026. It made 98 findings and 39 recommendations, including a recommendation to criminalise group-based coercive control.[19]
In response to the report, McConnell recounted that a safe adult during her childhood would have been transformative and described the proposed reform as addressing patterns of coercive behaviour rather than belief or religious affiliation. She emphasised that many people do not choose to join high-control groups but are born into them.[20] McConnell was also featured in an article in The Age about the report's aftermath, discussing barriers faced by survivors when accessing services such as Centrelink and mental health support after leaving high-control groups.[7]
At present, McConnell continuously collaborates with survivor advocates from various high-control groups, including former Jehovah's Witnesses and former members of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, following the recommendations of the report.[21]
Podcast
[edit]McConnell hosts Truth 2x2 Cult Kids, a podcast featuring accounts from people raised in the Truth, also known as the Two by Twos community.[22]
Media coverage and appearances
[edit]McConnell relates her experiences of growing up in and leaving the Truth in Australian media, including Mamamia,[23][24] news.com.au,[25] and SBS Insight[26] as well as the podcast Let's Talk About Sects.[1]
In 2024, McConnell was interviewed by ABC News about survivors of the group seeking redress, including her experiences of abuse and efforts to seek compensation through Australia's National Redress Scheme.[27] She has also been featured in The Sydney Morning Herald, where she has discussed the effects of growing up in a high-control religious environment and her approach to parenting.[28] Following this, a 2026 article examined her experiences seeking support after becoming a parent.[29]
Moreover, McConnell's appearance before the Victorian parliamentary inquiry in October 2025 was featured in Herald Sun coverage of the inquiry.[30] She also appeared on Hughesy, Ed & Erin on 2DayFM,[31] and was interviewed by LiSTNR's The Briefing in August 2026 about her departure from the group and the findings of the Victorian parliamentary inquiry.[21]
In August 2026, McConnell also joined Anke Richter as a fellow speaker, while chaired by Sarah Steel at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas in Sydney. Together they reviewed how high-control groups operate in a live conversation called "How to Start a Cult". The conversation covered the behavioural tactics of belief and manipulation and why humans crave the sense of connection.[32][33]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 3 "Two by Twos / The Truth". Let's Talk About Sects. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- 1 2 3 Tu, Jessie (2025-04-08). "Coercive control in cults to be examined in Victorian parliamentary inquiry". Women's Agenda. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- ↑ "Laura grew up in a fundamentalist sect. When she left, the town turned against her". ABC News. 2023-03-18. Retrieved 2026-09-11.
- ↑ "'I left a fundamentalist religious sect at 19'". news. Archived from the original on 2023-04-30. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
- ↑ Symons, Bec (2025-10-15). "Victorian inquiry hears from regional cult survivors about their isolation and shame". Retrieved 2026-09-04.
- 1 2 "About". lauramcconnell.com.au. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- 1 2 Bachelard, Michael (2026-08-03). "Coercion, control and high demands: How cults squash their members' identities". The Age. Retrieved 2026-08-17.
- ↑ Yasa, Dilvin (2026-08-13). ""I appeared successful but I was lonely": Laura McConnell, 46". The Age. Retrieved 2026-08-17.
- ↑ "Meet the CA turned #GoKindly founder: Laura Conti CA". ACUITY. Retrieved 2026-08-17.
- ↑ Agenda, Women's (2019-06-20). "#GoKindly: the social enterprise supporting women out of homelessness". Women's Agenda. Retrieved 2026-08-17.
- ↑ "Ethical practice at the heart of Australia's first pillow recycling pr". Probono Australia. 2022-09-15. Retrieved 2026-08-17.
- ↑ Lockett, Mia (2024-09-26). "Small social enterprise #GoKindly wins Good Design GOLD Award". Inside Small Business. Retrieved 2026-08-17.
- ↑ "#GoKindly Signature Pillow". Good Design. Retrieved 2026-08-17.
- ↑ "Our Board". Juno. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- ↑ "Cult Inquiry Announced with Renee & Clare". Truth 2x2 Cult Kids. 2025-06-03. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- ↑ Heath-McIvor, Clare (2025-07-01). "Cult survivors on a mission for meaningful change". Rationale Magazine. Retrieved 2026-09-04.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Submission No. 81" (PDF). Parliament of Victoria. 2025-06-27. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- ↑ "Transcript: Laura McConnell" (PDF). Parliament of Victoria, Legislative Assembly Legal and Social Issues Committee. 2025-10-13. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- ↑ "Inquiry into the Recruitment Methods and Impacts of Cults and Organised Fringe Groups". Parliament of Victoria. Retrieved 2026-07-30.
- ↑ Symons, Bec; Kendall, Jonathon (2026-07-29). "Victorian cult and fringe group inquiry recommends criminalising group coercion". ABC News. Retrieved 2026-08-17.
- 1 2 Sacha Barbour Gatt (2026-08-11). "Aus-first AI royal commission + The survivor taking on Australia's cults". The Briefing (Podcast). LiSTNR. Retrieved 2026-08-17.
- ↑ "Truth 2x2 Cult Kids". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- ↑ Jepsen, Belinda (2021-09-21). "Laura was raised in a fundamentalist sect. She left at 19, but she'll never be 'free'". Mamamia. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- ↑ Ross, Isabella (2024-02-16). "Age 19, Laura McConnell escaped one of Australia's most secretive cults". Mamamia. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- ↑ Jolly, Nathan (2020-02-08). "Woman recounts life raised in secret Australian religious sect". news.com.au. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- ↑ McCaskill, Nicola (2021-09-20). "Walking away from a secretive, religious sect: 'I didn't feel comfortable, I didn't fit in'". SBS Insight. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- ↑ Loftus, Tobi (2024-05-22). "Survivors of secretive Two by Two sect waiting to access National Redress Scheme". ABC News. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- ↑ Jacobs, Elli (2023-11-18). "Laura's parenting style is 'hands-off' due to her strict, religious upbringing". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2026-08-17.
- ↑ Jacobs, Elli (2026-01-31). "'Who's looking after the baby?' When Laura needed support, she faced this instead". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2026-08-17.
- ↑ Kolovos, Benita (2025-10-13). "Two by Twos cult abuse victim speaks out along with Liberal MPs sister". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 2025-10-13. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- ↑ "UNCUT/OFF AIR – Growing up in a religious CULT". Hughesy, Ed & Erin, 2DayFM. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- ↑ "HOW TO START A CULT // Anke Richter [GER/NZL], Laura McConnell". Festival of Dangerous Ideas. Retrieved 2026-09-17.
- ↑ Nieuwoudt, Jacques (2026-08-20). "Cult Survivors, Nobel Laureates, Russian Fugitives: Sydney's Festival Of Dangerous Ideas Is Back". City Hub. Retrieved 2026-09-17.
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