An ex-Scientologist filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles on Tuesday against the Church of Scientology and its leader, David Miscavige alleging the church put her through years of heinous abuse, human trafficking, and intimidation.

The legal challenge seeks to force the church, which has long been battling abuse allegations , into the new era of accountability brought about by the Me Too movement, according to Marci Hamilton, an expert on child abuse prevention and one of the lawyers involved in the case.

We learned through the Catholic Church cases and then with the development of the Me Too era that organizations that are held accountable in the courts end up being forced to do the right thing, Hamilton told HuffPost. Its not enough for people to tell their stories and simply come forward. You have to subject them to the legal system.

Scientology was founded in the 1950s, based on the teachings of the science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. One of its core beliefs is that man is an immortal spiritual being with unlimited capabilities. Members participate in one-on-one personal sessions, called auditing , to achieve higher states of spiritual awareness. The church was recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt religion in 1993 , after years of litigation.

People who leave Scientology have long raised concerns about the churchs practices, claiming that as members, they were subjected to physical abuse, forced labor and intimidation. The church has typically dismissed and denied these claims .

But over the past two years, the topic of abuse prevention has been roiling Americas biggest religious denominations, fueled by the Me Too movement. Just this month, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Southern Baptist Convention addressed the issue at national meetings and resolved to make changes to hold leaders accountable.

Hamilton, the founder of Child USA, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing child abuse and neglect, said that she isnt aware of any abuse accountability structures within the Church of Scientology. She said several characteristics of the church stand out as red flags to her, signaling that this is an environment where abuse could occur without accountability.

They are a top-down, male-run institution that does not permit questioning of the leadership or the dogma and they are very isolated, which means the vulnerable are extremely at risk, Hamilton said.

Asked to elaborate on what practices or systems the church has in place to handle abuse allegations and promote accountability among leaders, the Church of Scientology said the following, through its lawyers:

Allegations of abuse by the Church are absolutely false and unfounded, as are claims the Church ignored or covered up such abuse. The Church never ignores criminal behavior of any individual, especially at the expense of alleged victims. The Church follows all laws and reporting requirements, and it cooperates with law enforcement.