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Since its inception in 1954, the Church of Scientology has been the subject of a number of discussions regarding the controversial nature of many of its practices. While many of these controversies stem from alleged monetary exploitation, the Church of Scientology has also been accused of a number of abusive and potentially criminal actions involving its members (specifically children). Representatives of the Church of Scientology have denied the majority of these allegations, and due to the secrecy of the Scientology community, access to the practices used by the church are limited. The church has also repeatedly used its status as a religious organization to justify its actions. However, in recent decades, many former members of the Scientology have begun to expose the mistreatment and abuse that the church employs in order to maintain order over its members.

The Sea Org
The Sea Org, according to the Church of Scientology, is "a religious order for the Scientology religion and is composed of the singularly most dedicated Scientologists." According to previous members of the Sea Org, members are required to sign a one-billion year contract devoting themselves to Scientology. Little is known about the Sea Org through direct exposure to their practices, although former members of the Sea Org have described the abusive and often violent treatment that they received while they were still members.

The Sea Org was originally based of of four ships: the Diana, the Athena, the Apollo, and the Excalibur. However, in 1975, the Sea Org moves its operation to land-based locations, while still maintaining many of the naval traditions associated with the original Sea Org.

Claims regarding the Sea Org's mistreatment of its members have centered around the physical and mental abuse that members are subjected to, as well as the strict set of rules to which all members are expected to adhere. Se Org members have also been known to be very poorly compensated, occasionally making between 30 and 50 cents an hour. According to former members, the Sea Org would also write "Good Roads, Fair Weather" letters to families of members with the primary goal of discouraging them from filing missing persons reports or going to the media.

The Rehabilitation Project Force
The Rehabilitation Project Force, or RPF, is a subgroup within the Sea Org. The RPF is known as the "prison camp" of Scientology, as its purpose is to serve as a means of rehabilitating and correcting Sea Org members who are deemed to have not adequately met the expectations of the church of have failed the security checks that are required of all Sea Org members, among other violations of the church policy.

The RPF is widely considered to be one of the most evident examples of mistreatment within the Church of Scientology due to the incredibly controversial practices that members who are assigned to the RPF are subjected to. Members of the Sea Org who are assigned to the RPF are separated from their families and friends for extended periods of time, they are paced in incredibly solitary environments, they are not permitted to speak unless they are spoken to, they are required to run everywhere that they go, and they are forced to wear armbands that serve as indicators of their current status as members of the RPF. They are also forced to adhere to a very strict schedule that denied members sufficient sleep, food, and living conditions. Members of the RPF are subjected to incredibly grueling labor, and are required to complete any tasks that higher-ranking members of the Sea Org deem necessary to redeem themselves. While the Church of Scientology claims that the RPF was established as a means of allowing Sea Org members to devote themselves more completely to Scientology by eliminating external distractions, Laurel Sullivan, a former public relations officer to L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, has claimed that he told her that the RPF was to segregate people who were "against him and his instructions and against Scientology."

Sea Org members who are relegated to the RPF can remain in the RPF for extended periods of time, lasting from days to weeks, even years. Gerry Armstrong, a former member of the Sea Org, has said that he was forced to spend over two years in the RPF, and witnessed another member of the RPF being assigned even worse living conditions and redemption assignments in response to what Hubbard considered to be inadequate devotion to the normal tasks assigned to RPF members.

The Cadet Org
(FILL IN INFO ON THE CADET ORG HERE)

Marital and Familial Requirements Within the Sea Org
The Sea Org has very clearly defined requirements pertaining to marital and familial interactions concerning Sea Org members. Sea Org members are only permitted to marry within the Sea Org, and couples within the Sea Org that have a child are required to leave the Sea Org to work in another capacity within the church, leaving their child to be raised by members of the Sea Org. The children that are raised within the Sea Org are often subjected to physical and mental abuse similar to the adult members, and they are contained within the Sea Org community, resulting in a significant lack of exposure to the outside world.

The Sea Org also experienced a significant change in policy, when they began to encourage women to not have children, or to have abortions for any children that had already been conceived. The Church of Scientology told Sea Org members that any woman that had a child would be forced to leave the Sea Org, along with their child. As a result of these policies, many women were forced into unwanted abortions due to the power that the church of Scientology, specifically the Sea Org, held over its members.

Former Members of the Church of Scientology
In recent decades, a number of former members of the Church of Scientology have separated themselves from the organization and begun to reveal to the public the mistreatment that they were subjected to during their time as a member of the church. The Church of Scientology has attempted to denounce much of the information that these former members provide, and, in some cases, they have attempted to completely prevent certain information from being released ,often by targeting the individual that is releasing the information. These efforts however, are becoming increasingly more unsuccessful.

Melissa Paris
Melissa Paris, a member of the Church of Scientology from 1996 to 2007, described her association with the Church of Scientology has having been forced into her as soon as she was able to understand it. Paris describes her time as a member of the Cadet Org (a prerequisite to the Sea Org designed for young children) as being incredibly difficult:"'I can't explain the loss that I felt when I understood that my mother had left me, that I didn't have a true home anymore, and that my family had now been split up and I had no choice in the matter.'"Paris also describes the physical and mental abuse that she received during her time as a member of the Sea Org:"'In the mornings, we would 'muster'. When I got slapped, spanked, or humiliated at muster for something I'd done wrong, I showed no emotion other than a smirk...I also became the first child the Cadet Org put in its own RPF. I was segregated from everyone. My parents weren't allowed to talk to me, none of the cadets talked to me. I was on MEST work (menial physical labor) from 7 am to 8 pm. I had no contact with anyone. I was in a room by myself. I did this for months...I remember having done something wrong one time. I was 15 and Frank, a high-ranking Sea Org member, was [annoyed]. He shoved me against a wall and started screaming at me about an inch away from my face. He kept spitting, and I reached up and wiped it off my face. He list it and kept slamming me against a wall in front of other Sea Org members, and they did nothing.'"Descriptions of experiences within the Church of Scientology by other former members appear to be relatively consistent with what Paris describes, as harsh and violent treatment of church members was a relatively common experience among many of the former members.

Astra Woodcroft
Another former member of the Church of Scientology, Astra Woodcroft, also describes her experiences within the church as being very similar to what Paris experienced:"'I was 'audited from an early age...I remember a Scientology official asking me to answer the same questions over and over, or telling me to touch a wall time and again, until I felt almost dizzy. The repetition in an auditing session, essentially, is designed to help you clear your mind, and make the physical world disappear...Once after one of these childhood auditing sessions in London, I fell while running down a hill. I remember my mother telling me this was a good thing; it meant I had left my body...In the compound in Florida, my mother seemed to change overnight, transforming from a loving, caring parent into a distant, aloof figure, as she dedicated herself to her religion. She had grown up in Scientology; she took her new role in the Sea Org very seriously.'"Woodcroft goes on to describe her later experiences in the Sea Org, once she had committed, describing how she "attended a two-week boot camp called the Estates Project Force. There, from morning till night, I memorized Sea Org policy, performed chord such as emptying trash cans and polishing shoes, and eventually, signed the billion-year contract."

Many other members have described their experiences in great length once removing themselves from the Sea Org. The Church of Scientology has attempted to discredit the majority of these former members with little success.