The Employment Court has heard women at Gloriavale would go hungry in order to properly feed the men and were told by leaders to have sex as and when required by their husbands.
The case is centred around six women arguing that they were employees and not volunteers through many years of gruelling domestic work
The court heard from two Gloriavale leavers on Tuesday morning who requested not to be filmed.
One young woman, Trudy Christian, broke down as she described the brutal working conditions she was required to work in and the frequent spankings by leaders with objects which began when she was pre-school-aged.
She said education was not considered a priority by the leaders, but work was.
A male leaver with permanent name suppression described women in the community as sex slaves as it was laid out in their marriage contracts.
He said there was a regime of bullying and abuse and family members were used as pawns.
Gloriavale lawyer Phillip Skelton said women currently in Gloriavale disputed his evidence.
Gloriavale is expected to open its case later this week when leader Howard Temple will take the stand.
