Sex Abuse Settlements and the "Re-Victimization" of Confidentiality Agreements
Earlier this year I posed the question “are secret sex abuse settlements unethical?“.
This question was raised in the face of CBC’s reporting that Scouts Canada settled sex abuse claims and that confidentiality was a staple term. CBC has continued to follow this matter. Scouts Canada has softened their approach with respect to these settlements and now CBC reports that a historic abuse victim welcomes this development stating “It means freedom to speak as I wish — should I choose to speak — or not speak.”
When asked about the consequences of the confidentiality agreement following settlement CBC reports the following quote attributed to the victim of historic abuse “In a sense, you are revictimized...You become the isolated person who has to not tell anybody what the most important thing in your life is.”
Given this profound burden I repeat the question, is there any greater good that comes from the enforcement of these confidentiality agreements which outweighs their harm?
