Survivor and campaigner Rachael Reign on life inside a high-control group, how she got out, and why UK coercive control law needs to reach beyond the home.

Show Notes
Guest Profile

“Surviving isn’t just about leaving — it’s about learning to trust yourself again after someone else’s voice has lived in your head for years.” — Rachael Reign

In this powerful episode of Humanism Now, Rachael Reign, survivor and founder of Surviving Universal UK, shares her deeply personal story of escaping spiritual abuse and coercive control and her ongoing campaign to protect others.

As founder of Surviving Universal UK, Rachael supports other survivors of high-control groups and leads a growing campaign to amend Section 76 of the UK Serious Crime Act.

In this episode

Rachael's journey into, and out of, UCKG
What draws vulnerable young people into high-control groups
How unpaid labour and spiritual obedience become normalised
What led Rachael to walk away and how she supports other survivors
The warning signs of cultic or coercively controlling groups
Where UK law falls short in protecting against coercive control outside domestic settings
How we can hold abusive systems accountable
The role the public and policymakers can play in driving survivor-led legal reform

Surviving Universal UK

🔗Surviving Universal UK
📧 info@survivinguniversaluk.org
📸 @survivinguniversaluk
🎵 @survivinguniversaluk

Contact Rachael

🌳linktr.ee
🎤Speaker bookings - Rachael Reign
📸 @Msrachaelreign

Resources

Need support?
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Email: helpline@faithtofaithless.com

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Rachael Reign

Founder & CEO, Surviving Universal UK

Rachael Reign is the founder and CEO of Surviving Universal UK, a Black-led, survivor-led organisation supporting people affected by cultic and spiritual abuse. Based in South London, she has become one of the UK's leading voices on high-control groups and coercive control.

Rachael entered the UCKG as a teenager and left in her early twenties. She founded Surviving Universal UK to fill a gap in support for survivors of high-control environments, particularly within Black communities where this harm often goes unrecognised. The organisation provides one-to-one support, survivor resources, safeguarding training and public advocacy, and has helped thousands of people in the UK and internationally.

She leads a national campaign to amend Section 76 of the Serious Crime Act so that coercive control is recognised beyond domestic settings. She is an advisory member of the National Working Group on Spiritual and Ritual Abuse, a member of the Ban Conversion Practices Coalition, and a 2026 Lambeth Civic Awards finalist. Her work has featured on BBC Panorama, Sky News and in The Guardian.

Her guiding principle: accountability is not persecution.

37. Rachael Reign on Coercive Control Beyond the Home: Protecting Cult Survivors