Thread by @katierouquine

[ Regarding Confidentiality Concerns w/the ACNA Investigation]
On February 13th, @The_ACNA announced that the formal abuse investigations had begun and directed people how to contact the chosen firms, Husch Blackwell (sexual abuse) and Telios Law (spiritual abuse).

They noted at the end of this email, "The Province is committed to seeking justice for any acts of abuse. We will not shield anyone who has committed abuse or engaged in misconduct from the scrutiny of an impartial and objective investigation that seeks the truth."

"Our great desire is that the Anglican Church in North America will be a safe place for adults and children, the broken-hearted and the vulnerable".

In seeking to obtain some clarity for those people who've reached out to me who are unsure whether they will report their stories – primarily because they're uneasy about whether they're safe to do so – I've reached out to the investigation firms.

When I wrote the team Husch Blackwell, I inquired about confidentiality as nothing has been expressly stated on that front by the Province (note: the Province has not made the terms of the contract known, which has unfortunately left many unanswered ?s unnecessarily lingering).

A Partner from Husch Blackwell wrote me back:
"We take careful notes of interviews and will be preparing a written report to share with a small leadership team at the Province, which will include information we find material to our efforts to collect facts."...

"We also seek to protect confidentiality and privacy of non-employees who speak with us. To that end, while the internal report will include names, the Province’s leadership team will not share names with anyone, including anyone working for the Diocese or its churches."...

"A version of that report will also be made public, but only after redacting the names of any non-employee of the Diocese or its churches that are included in the internal report (identifying information besides names for such people will also be redacted, as appropriate)."...

"Also, the protection of confidentiality will continue even if the leadership team determines that any disciplinary action should be pursued with respect to anyone who works for the Diocese or its churches."...

"If that happens, any non-employee who may have material information will be asked for permission (in emails from Husch Blackwell) for their name or information they shared to be used in any such disciplinary matter;...

..."only if such a person chooses to engage in that capacity will their name or information be shared or used beyond the leadership team".

While the redactions on the public report are standard best practice, it's concerning that this small leadership team at the Province will be seeing *all* the information, identities included.

To be frank, the other "small leadership teams" the Province has put into place so far have not proven themselves to be trustworthy or unbiased.

But given that I'm not an expert, I did some homework and was able to get in touch with an attorney who specializes in sexual abuse cases, who also happens to be an expert witness in these matters.

I sent the following question alongside the correspondence from Husch Blackwell:

"I'm interested if these kinds of parameters regarding confidentiality/anonymity are normal and/or advised, in your opinion, as an attorney who handles sexual abuse cases?"

Here's what I heard back:

"What Husch Blackwell refers to as “the protection of confidentiality” is, in this instance, a requirement that the survivor waive confidentiality in advance to permit disclosure to the Province’s leadership team."...

"This is legally problematic and deeply concerning because there is no confidentiality agreement with the Province or their leadership team. There is nothing binding them to confidentiality. There is no agreement between the survivor and the Province."...

"This approach is contrary to the principles of conducting an investigation that is sensitive to the trauma experienced by survivors. This approach accommodates the interests of the Province at the expense of the survivors."...

#ACNAtoo @ArchbishopFoley @The_ACNA

"As a result, this approach is likely to have a chilling effect on the willingness of survivors to participate and on the degree of disclosure of those who do participate."...

"The consequence is that investigations that take this approach are often perceived as inadequate and therefore not credible."...

"For this reason, this approach is disfavored by many who advise organizations on how to conduct investigations of sexual abuse by people in a position of trust and power".

#ACNAtoo @ArchbishopFoley @The_ACNA

The attorney also reminded me Husch Blackwell is not the one setting the terms – the Province is. HB is a very reputable law firm, but (as has been stated many times regarding this scandal), the client dictates the terms for the contract. In this case, the Province is the client.

When the contract is not released, it naturally begs questions about why – unfortunately, confidentiality is part of that key "why". (Alongside other parts, such as the scope, which is crucial).

Abuse cases where full transparency is assured are viewed as more legitimate and trustworthy – such as in the Penn State case. The investigator that handled that high profile case would only take it under the condition that he be able to set the terms for it (not his client).

A few examples of investigations that prioritize witness confidentiality are below: 1) The Ohio State case details these parameters for protecting confidentiality directly in its public report:

"If a witness was a former student or other individual reporting their account of abuse committed by Strauss (“survivor”), we informed the survivor that we would not share his name or other identifying information with the University (or any other third party),"...

"and that we would do everything in our power to ensure that the survivor’s identity would be kept confidential. Upon request by certain survivors, we assigned aliases to further protect their anonymity, even within our internal work product".

2) In the Catlin-Gabel case report, it notes: "An important aspect of this investigation was to allow victims/survivors who came forward to keep their identities confidential if they wished to remain anonymous to everyone, including the investigator"...

"Anonymous reporting made the evidence more difficult for the investigator to corroborate, but we did not want to deter anyone from coming forward because they did not want to be identified.”

3) The Cate School report details: "Given the small size of the school and the desire to assure anonymity to those who wanted it, OIG determined that providing a summary of the allegations, other evidence considered, and findings – "...

"focusing on the respondents’ wrongdoing rather than the details of what happened to each student – was the appropriate way to share this information with the community while respecting each participant's desire for privacy"...

"All students and alumni who spoke to the investigators were assigned a letter (Student A-Student LL), so their accounts would not be connected to their names. OIG will retain the identification key."...

"Students and alumni who did not participate in the investigation, but were referenced in others’ accounts, were assigned a number so they, too, would not be identifiable in the Report (Student 1-Student 45)."...

"Thus, no individual assigned a number provided a first-hand account or otherwise participated in the investigation. These numbers and letters were assigned at random."

4) The recently published Christianity Today report notes: "To encourage CT employees to report allegations of inappropriate behavior, sexual harassment, or abuse, CT asked Guidepost to establish a 24/7 confidential reporting mechanism."

I could offer dozens of other examples where confidentiality was prioritized as paramount (these quotes are all pulled from the public reports, which you can Google).

Confidentiality serves the integrity of the investigation, as the attorney I was in touch with noted that investigations that don't assure confidentiality are often looked at as (at best) inadequate, and (at worst) not credible.

#ACNAtoo @ArchbishopFoley @The_ACNA

In layman's terms, when an investigation doesn't prioritize confidentiality, there are survivors and witnesses who *will not* come forward – resulting in a report that is limited, and therefore to some degree skewed.

#ACNAtoo @ArchbishopFoley @The_ACNA

Inaccurate conclusions could then be drawn by the client (the Province), the laypeople, and any of the general public keeping track to see if justice truly is being pursued.

#ACNAtoo @ArchbishopFoley @The_ACNA

And while I'll grant you there are survivors and witnesses who won't come forward *regardless*, a much higher percentage WILL come forward if they're assured their identities will remain private.

What would it be like to muster the courage to come forward, to be interviewed about a highly personal and painful story, and to do that *without* having confirmation that your story isn't going to land in the wrong hands? I shudder trying to imagine it.

But – you might ask if I'm being too picky in critiquing this as *only* a small leadership team from the Province will see the names and identities.

#ACNAtoo @ArchbishopFoley @The_ACNA

And you might charge me with not trusting the leadership you believe really wants to do the right thing (and who you might think "deserve" to know who is who).

#ACNAtoo @ArchbishopFoley @The_ACNA

Friend, I'd answer you by begging the question: why must a small leadership team at the Province know survivor and witness identities? What does it matter if –

#ACNAtoo @ArchbishopFoley @The_ACNA

I make a report
vs someone old
vs someone new
vs the person who stayed
vs the person who left
vs the person in Sunday School
vs the person on the worship team
vs the person who was just ordained
vs someone who is related to someone in the Province?
#ACNAtoo @The_ACNA

The answer: it shouldn't matter. The onus is on the Province to provide a good reason why they will not commit to full confidentiality.

#ACNAtoo @ArchbishopFoley @The_ACNA

Additionally, beyond laying the foundation for a credible and respectable investigation, assuring confidentiality also appropriately cares for the vulnerable survivors coming forward.

#ACNAtoo @ArchbishopFoley @The_ACNA

*Anyone* asking survivors to come forward should provide a space of safety, respect, and sensitivity, but you know who especially should do that, without question? The Church.

#ACNAtoo @ArchbishopFoley @The_ACNA

Christians are called to be Jesus' hands and feet and Christian leaders should be the first ones to lay down their privilege for the good of the vulnerable in their midst. Right now, @The_ACNA, the vulnerable in your midst *are* the abuse survivors.

And right now, @The_ACNA, *you* have the opportunity to do what is in *their* best interests by assuring them of complete confidentiality – even from this small leadership team. You have the chance this Lent to be like your Savior, empty yourselves of your power, and:

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."...

#ACNAtoo @ArchbishopFoley @The_ACNA

"In your relationships w/one another have the same mindset as Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, didn't consider equality w/God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness."...

"And being found in appearance as a man he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross!" (Phillipians 2:3-8).

Leaders at @The_ACNA, please remember you are NOT called to do a "good enough job" with this investigation, but to structure an investigation and its parameters that is ABOVE REPROACH (1 Timothy 3:2).

Timothy reminds us, "The saying is sure: whoever aspires to the office of bishop desires a noble task...Moreover, he must be well thought of BY OUTSIDERS, so that he may not fall into disgrace and the snare of the devil. (1 Timothy 3:1 and 7, caps mine)
@ArchbishopFoley @The_ACNA

You have stated your desire and goal for an "impartial and objective investigation that seeks the truth". You still have the agency and the prerogative to adjust the confidentiality parameters with Husch Blackwell.

#ACNAtoo @ArchbishopFoley @The_ACNA

For the sake of *witnesses and survivors* who deserve justice, I dearly hope you will before it's too late.

And for the sake of a *watching world*, I hope to God you will.

#ACNAtoo @ArchbishopFoley @The_ACNA

@ArchbishopFoley @The_ACNA @threadreaderapp unroll please