Harmful traditional practices, coercion, and closed-up communities

Dina-Perla Portnaar has investigated hundreds of personal stories of people who left closed-up communities. In short, she defines three main reasons why people leave, namely the behavior of other community members, some form of trauma, and the differences in terms of beliefs. Usually, people who leave the closed-up community will experience a mixture of all three, one aspect outweighing the other just a bit more.

In Dina-Perla’s case, the behavior of others was the main reason (summarized as integrity breaches), then came trauma, and last came the differences in terms of beliefs (not the most important of the three).

Dina-Perla offers 1:1 consults in the four stages, namely breaking free, the direct reaction to where you come from, your most authentic self, and the status-quo in which where you come from is less definable in daily choices, and in the interaction with others. She concludes that many people who leave closed-up communities will see themselves go back and forth between those four stages.

Dina-Perla provides many speaking slots, experience sharing, and masterclasses, on closed-up communities, why we should break those open, on different forms of coercion, and harmful traditional practices in the context of children’s and human rights. Moreover, on healing, and growing from trauma and loss. Personal growth on the back of a psychological, philosophical, and spiritual knowledge base, which translates into integrity consults.

Quick resources on closed-up communities, and harmful traditional practices

Spotify podcasts (Dutch) and Dina-Perla Portnaar: Hero in own story, and Children’s vision