Taking on Sexual Misconduct in Spiritual Communities

with Attorney Carol Merchasin

Carol Merchasin is a former partner at Morgan, Lewis, and Bockius in Philadelphia, where she was an employment lawyer investigating issues of sexual misconduct in the workplace. She is currently the head of Sexual Misconduct in Spiritual Communities Counsel at the law firm of McAllister Olivarius, which represents survivors of sexual misconduct in cults and spiritual communities.

Carol's Background

After coming out of retirement, Carol became an independent contractor. In 2018, she volunteered to investigate sexual assaults within a Buddhist community. Her work revealed that, following media coverage of the case, numerous women began to share their experiences of sexual abuse in spiritual communities, unaware that others had faced similar situations. This prompted Carol to initiate a four-year pro bono investigation, during which she discovered that these communities were largely unwilling to accept responsibility or accountability for the incidents that occurred.