What is GEMPPI ? An anti cult French association
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GEMPPI : Groupe d’Etude des Mouvements de Pensée en vue de la Protection de l’Individu (Group for the Study of Spiritual Movements and cults for the Protection of the Individual)
Since 1988
Help, information and prevention against sectarian aberrations. Study of new beliefs, holistic therapies, documentation, conferences & case studies. Training, information, awareness-raising, support for individuals and families faced with sectarian problems. Support for former followers
See also GEMPPI’s permanent actions and services
Support and accompaniment interviews are available by appointment in Marseille at our offices or with the various GEMPPI correspondents in France (see list and contact details). The followers of clutic or sectarian groups, gurus and ‘toxic’ pseudo-therapists are what we call victims of sectarian recruitment, i.e. people under mental control (or the object of mental manipulation). For these reasons, those close to the victim may observe certain changes, or even no longer recognise the victim in question. Faced with this particular situation, questions are asked, concerns are expressed, sometimes guilt, and family and relationship problems arise.
Faced with this particular situation, questions arise, worries and sometimes guilt, as well as family and relationship problems. As family members, it is important to maintain an emotional bond with the person who has been recruited. But how do you maintain this bond with a person who has changed? What mistakes should you avoid making? Talking can help you see things more clearly, find advice, resolve certain problems and, in some cases, understand the guru’s thinking in order to understand how the sect works.
‘We are deceived by the appearance of goodness’ Horace
GEMPPI is a secular organisation independent of any religious or political movement.
An association for the defence of human rights and consumers, specialising in the field of holistic religious and therapeutic beliefs, working to ensure that everyone can exercise their freedom of conscience, to believe and to feel better, in the best possible conditions, while avoiding the risks of sectarianism and enslaving mental manipulation.
Founded in 1988 as a philanthropic organisation, GEMPPI works to inform and help individuals, families, public and private bodies confronted with cults and to document, students, journalists and TV channels.
In this way, we are helping to stem the many problems of public order, human misery and suffering, and family tragedies resulting from sectarian aberrations or holistic therapists.
Respecting everyone’s right to hold the beliefs of their choice, we describe sectarian aberrations as follows:
Actions, practices and teachings used in movements or groups with religious, philosophical or holistic therapeutic claims which harm or are harmful to individuals and society, in particular by using various unfair or illegal methods. When these facts occur in a constant, repeated or structural manner, we speak of sectarian groups or cults.
Our partnerships and affiliations
-Fédération Européenne des Centres de Recherche et d’Information sur le Secta-risme – FECRIS – ( www.fecris.org) – NGO registered with the UN (ECOSOC) and with the Council of Europe (participatory status).
-Fédération des Amis de l’Instruction Laïque – FAIL ( www.fail13.org)
-Centre Contre les Manipulations Mentales – CCMM (www.ccmm.asso.fr)
AFIS, Association Française pour l’Information Scientifique (www.afis.fr ; www.pseudo-sciences.org)
-UDAF 13, Union Départementale des Familles de France (Departmental Union of French Families)
GEMPPI is listed on the website of the Interministerial Mission of Vigilance and Combat against Sectarian Aberrations (Miviludes-French government body).
The health field
Since 2003, the GEMPPI has been leading the ‘Health, ethics and ideologies’ commission of the Espace Ethique PACA-Corse, at the La Timone hospital (Marseille).
This commission studies non-conventional medicines and therapies, subjecting them to ethical and critical questioning. In addition, to limit the risks associated with unconventional or holistic therapies, GEMPPI holds and manages the charter and register of ‘Practitioners and actors in body and mind’.
What does GEMPPI offer its members ?
Members can register to receive information of personal interest to them and, if necessary, to benefit from the follow-up of a case for which they have contacted GEMPPI. They are also kept informed of GEMPPI activities (conferences, seminars, etc.) and action programmes. Non-members can also benefit from the same services, but not automatically.
In addition to the additional resources it provides, membership is primarily intended to give weight and representativeness to our association and its actions. If 3,000 members support our aims, positions and actions, they will be taken seriously by decision-makers at all levels, much more so than if we were just a handful. Your membership, however minimal or symbolic, is therefore an effective way of supporting, perpetuating and winning the GEMPPI cause.
We are equipped to film the testimonies of victims wishing to benefit from media coverage to publicise their difficulties. We welcome volunteers and assist students and researchers with their work placements, studies and projects.
To become an active member : contact us beforehand (gemppi@wanadoo.fr) if you would like to set up a project in line with our aims. There is also the possibility of becoming a GEMPPI correspondent in a given geographical area, with a role as an observer of the sectarian phenomenon.
Our quarterly newsletter (available for consultation) : « Discoveries about cults and religions »
Content: Press reviews and dossiers on sectarian aberrations, holistic therapies and new religious movements, personal accounts. Information on GEMPPI’s activities
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