A support group for people who choose to leave the Gloriavale Christian Community on the West Coast is relieved by the latest action by police and Oranga Tamariki.
The two agencies have been at the West Coast community since Monday, as part of an investigation into the group.
The community has been the subject of allegations of sexual abuse and abusing workers' rights.
Oranga Tamariki deputy chief executive Alison McDonald said its staff were working with police to ensure the safety of children and young people there.
Gloriavale Leavers' Support Trust manager Liz Gregory told Morning Report she had heard that up to 100 girls aged between six and 15 were being interviewed at present.
Police and Oranga Tamarariki had also been investigating claims of abuse of boys at the community for some time, she said.
Gregory said there was "a culture of control" and a lack of information within the community and children were not safe.
"[There are] great parents up there who actually would love to parent their children and protect them from harm, but they're stuck in a system and it prevents them from doing that."
She said she felt sorry for the children and some parents would be in a state of turmoil, unable to act on the concerns they had held for some time.
"They're in a system where they couldn't complain, they couldn't speak out. They couldn't just get a telephone and ring the police - that wasn't the culture and they didn't have access to the phone."
Gregory said they supported actions that help families which may include uncovering or exposing things "that are wrong in there".
"We know it's a really complex situation to be working in the Gloriavale sphere - it does need extremely careful handling."
Her group would not favour dramatic action, such as dawn raids, to remove children from their parents.
"We've tried to blow the whistle for want of a better word. So I guess for us it's a sense of relief that a government agency is understanding the issue."
There needed to be openness and exposure so that people could heal and move on with their lives, Gregory said.
"It would be amazing to have a period of disruption for people to create change and just move forward."
RNZ
