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Confidentiality

Many victims and survivors face challenges in staying safe after leaving abusers, especially if they are concerned that abusers may choose to stalk them as a way to maintain power and control. Research shows that most individuals have certain characteristics that likely make them unique from one another, and these characteristics can add additional challenges for victims and survivors who are trying to stay anonymous.

It is essential that victims can flee violence and access domestic violence services without being vulnerable to tracking by an abusive partner. Domestic violence service providers have strict confidentiality rules set in place for good reason. The information that victim service providers can share with outside parties must be carefully scrutinized and limited. Also, government databases and other public records must be carefully regulated to ensure the safety of victims who may be tracked by these means.

Legislative Action

The National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) has taken a proactive stance on ensuring victims’ and survivors’ confidentiality and has addressed this issue through a number of legislative activities:

  • Working with Congressional staff and privacy experts, NNEDV helped to draft a bill to overhaul the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) to provide better confidentiality for all homeless individuals.
  • NNEDV helped Congress craft provisions in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 2005 that protect shelters from requirements to share personally identifying data with third-party databases, including HMIS.
  • NNEDV provides expertise to Congress and federal policymakers on other issues of confidentiality for victims.

What You Can Do to Help

Learn more about VAWA confidentiality protections.

Learn more about confidentiality and other technology safety issues from NNEDV’s Safety Net Project.