Technology & Confidentiality Toolkit

For many survivors of intimate partner violence and abuse, their privacy and confidentiality is paramount to their safety. Victim service agencies play a significant role in ensuring that confidentiality and safety. Revealing personally identifying information about survivors who seek services or the details of their abuse to anyone without the survivors’ permission or knowledge can jeopardize their path to safety.

Yet victim service agencies may need to share information in many ways: with community partners, within community coordinated response teams, through referrals to other service providers, or in community-wide data collection initiatives.

This website will help guide agencies in understanding their obligations to confidentiality in accordance to federal laws, best practices to ensure survivor-centered services, when and how much information to keep, and how best to share information with others. 

Click here to read more on why confidentiality and the resources on this site is helpful for victim service agencies, community partnerships, and programs that are co-located with other service agencies.

This section provides an overview on questions that commonly come up concerning confidentiality releases, U.S. Federal Laws on confidentiality, record retention and deletion, mandatory reporting, the use of surveillance cameras, answering subpoenas and much more. For ease, this section is set up in an easy-to-read question and answer format.

Non-profit victim service agencies, advocates, and partnerships that provide services to survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking may adapt these forms, policies and agreements for immediate use.

Quick safety and confidentiality tips, checklists and charts highlight considerations about technology use by agencies and collaborations serving victims.

Browse key supplementary resources referenced in the Toolkit.