There are various circumstances under which someone in a position of power may request that someone else sign a non-disclosure agreement, not all of which are nefarious. However, an NDA designed to protect intellectual property or business secrets is one thing, and an NDA intended to hide the fact that someone has committed sexual abuse against someone else—who may now be legally pressured by that agreement into not reporting what they went through—is another entirely.
Unfortunately, despite legislative efforts at both the state and federal levels to reduce the power of NDAs to silence sexual assault survivors, there are still many ways in which non-disclosure agreements can affect the rights of survivors to seek civil restitution or legal accountability for the harm done to them. However, not all NDAs of this nature are legally enforceable, as a sexual abuse lawyer from our team can further explain.
It’s far from uncommon for survivors of sexual abuse to willingly sign non-disclosure agreements related to the abuse they experienced, and there are several understandable reasons why a survivor might choose to do this. In addition to financial compensation, signing an NDA could also allow a survivor to achieve some measure of closure about what was done to them and maintain their privacy in the meantime.
However, signing an NDA can also be a serious impediment to reporting the unlawful behavior of an abuser later on, or to seeking more meaningful compensation through a civil lawsuit or settlement demand. It also has the impact of potentially allowing a serial abuser to continue abusing other people without any public or legal accountability for their actions—a scenario which the now-disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein serves as a prime example of.
There is a strong argument to be made that non-disclosure agreements tailored to obscure unlawful behavior like sexual assault are violating the original intent of laws governing these sorts of contracts. With that in mind, numerous states have passed laws in recent years limiting the degree to which NDAs can legally restrict a sexual abuse survivor’s right to speak out about the abuse they experienced.
At the federal level, the Speak Out Act passed in 2022 prevents non-disclosure agreements from being enforced when they pertain specifically to instances of sexual harassment and/or assault.
If you are subject to an NDA regarding your past experience with sexual assault, a member of the Phillips Law Group can discuss your legal options with you in detail during a free, confidential, and no-obligation consultation. Call today to set up a meeting.
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