7.2 Who to Contact when Confidentiality Limits Occur
Who to Contact when 1 of the 3 Limits to Confidentiality Occurs
- If the disclosure includes discussion of immediate suicidality and/or immediate harm that will happen to an identified individual – emergency safety protocols should be followed.
- Campus members can contact:
- emergency medical services via 911
- crisis counselling at the University of Waterloo Counseling Services by calling 519-888-4096. More info is available from Campus Wellness
- Special Constables by calling their direct line 519-888-4911 or their on-campus extension 22222
***Please note that SVPRO is not a crisis service.*** - Campus members can contact:
- When someone under the age of 16 is experiencing or witnessing abuse, the local Children’s Aid must be contacted.
- You can find the local Children’s Aid through the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies
- It can be helpful to consult with SVPRO regarding the duty to report before calling Children’s Aid.
- When there is concern that campus safety may be compromised, it is helpful to first consult with SVPRO on next steps. Special constables and safety officers can also be consulted with.
Employees may also want, and need to consult with their supervisors, following a disclosure to ensure they are following the protocols within their departments. SVPRO encourages everyone to follow the principle of “sharing up, not out” – meaning that information is shared up the line of supervision or management, but not broadly with peers or colleagues.
Communicating Limits of Confidentiality
It is important to maintain confidentiality after receiving a disclosure – often, there is no need to share any information disclosed with anybody.
Where possible, limits to confidentiality (i.e.: what information needs to be shared when, with whom and why) should be made clear to the person disclosing to you as soon as possible. This can help the person making the disclosure decide how much to share with you, and keeps the control of the information.
Have Questions about your Limits to Confidentiality? Need to consult?
Campus policies state that you shall contact a Sexual Violence Response Coordinator in SVPRO when a formal complaint of sexual violence has been initiated.
And that you should consult an SVRC when you have received a disclosure of sexual violence.
You do not need to share any identifying information when consulting.
Consulting with SVPRO enables you to receive support, to debrief, and to ensure all necessary safety planning and support has been provided to the survivor/victim. It also helps SVPRO to better understand the complex picture of sexual violence on campus.