2.1 Ethics of Confidentiality

It’s important to discuss confidentiality at the beginning of your interactions with the survivor.

This gives them the ability to determine what they want to disclose and how they want to proceed.

Confidentiality requirements allow survivors to reach out for support and know that their information is protected. Some countries have laws that require confidentiality for service providers working with survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner violence — some do not.

Survivors experience events that can cause trauma. Sharing their personal information without their consent can cause additional trauma.

Sharing about sexual assault can also put the survivor’s life at risk.

For example, survivors have committed suicide out of shame when photos identifying them as a survivor of assault were posted by the media. In many contexts, being the survivor of sexual assault can expose the survivor to further risk of assault by members of the community, including law enforcement.

It takes immense courage to tell a stranger about highly personal and traumatic experiences. As a service provider, having a confidential relationship allows them to explore if and how they want to access the healthcare system or potentially report the crime to the police.

Having an advocate bound by confidentiality may increase a survivor’s comfort accessing healthcare and law enforcement services. Comfort

In many cases, without confidentiality, the survivor would not feel comfortable coming forward.

Confidentiality is the foundation of good advocacy and service provision for survivors. In areas where there is only one advocate or a limited number of healthcare providers, confidentiality is the only way that survivors may feel able to access the services they need.

For an advocate to be able to claim confidentiality, they must be trained.

For this reason, it may be important to create formal trainings in your community that supplement this training primer. For more information about how to access further training towards certification as a rape crisis counsellor, see the ‘Resources’ section.

The following sections will explore important aspects of confidentiality and the ethics of being an advocate. It’s essential to understand this material thoroughly.