Are NXIVM Cult Members Victims or Perpetrators?
Sometimes, perpetrators of abuse are also brainwashed
Keith Raniere, the leader of the NXIVM cult, was sentenced to 120 years in prison this past year for two counts of sex trafficking, racketeering, forced labor conspiracy, attempted sex trafficking, wire fraud conspiracy, and racketeering conspiracy. His organization branded women with his initials. He manipulated many women into having sex with him. However, an uncomfortable fact was that Keith Raniere didn’t do it alone.
Five other people were charged by the Eastern District of New York District Attorney: Clare Bronfman, Allison Mack, Kathy Russell, Nancy Salzman, and Lauren Salzman. These women were said to engage in some of the more horrific acts associated with the cult, including branding women with the initials of Allison Mack and Keith Raniere. Clare Bronfman was known as the legal enforcer of NXIVM, pursuing legal action against anyone who dared criticize Raniere and the group. Mack introduced the branding ritual to NXIVM.
Without all these women, Raniere would not have had his strongest lieutenants and enforcers. While Raniere himself will go down in a more unambiguously bad and insidious light, what about Mack, Bronfman, Russell, and Nancy and Lauren Salzman? Are they victims or perpetrators? Were they brainwashed…
