Adjudication No. 1419  (adjudicated March 2009)

The Australian Press Council has upheld a complaint over an article headed 'I escaped an Aussie sect' in Woman's Day on December 1, 2008, which told a woman's story about her attempts to leave a church named as the Exclusive Brethren.

Phil McNaughton, a senior member of the Exclusive Brethren, which is also known as the Brethren, said the church had no knowledge of the woman named in the article having any affiliation with the Brethren or having married a member of the Brethren.

Mr McNaughton said the article made a number of false allegations about the activities of the Brethren including performing exorcisms and restricting children from taking medication.

The magazine said the article was written by a very experienced and well-respected journalist and the woman and another ex-member of the same church had confirmed on a number of occasions that they were ex-members of the Exclusive Brethren. The magazine said it considered that any enquiries made to the Exclusive Brethren were not likely to be fruitful given the secretive nature of the church. The Brethren said contact numbers were available on its website and spokespeople had been quoted in other publications.

After the publication of the article the magazine sought clarification and was told by the woman that the group she had belonged to was "a breakaway" from the Exclusive Brethren.

Whether or not the woman was a member of the Exclusive Brethren, Woman's Day failed to take reasonable steps to check the accuracy of the woman's claims about the Exclusive Brethren, failed to pursue fairness and balance, and failed to make any offer of amends.

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