THE CAMPAIGN GOAL
The goal of our campaign is simple – legislative and regulatory change that will make NDAs unenforceable for anything other than their original purpose – the prevention of sharing confidential business information (“intellectual property”) and trade secrets.
NDAs are unnecessary for protecting victim identity (which can be protected with a simple one sided confidentiality clause), catastrophically damaging to innocent parties, and immoral when they hide harmful information from the public.
Heightened awareness and global discussion around the misuse of NDAs has resulted in policy changes in some organisations, warning notices from regulators (e.g. the Solicitor’s Regulatory Authority in England & Wales) and new laws in several US states. We have been instrumental in the recent introduction of new laws in the UK, Canada and Ireland (please see Legislation section HERE) and we are working with legislators in the UK and Canada (at provincial and federal level) on more new legislation, and with a government task force in Victoria Australia, all modelled on our Irish Bill.
But this isn’t enough. NDAs are still being used every day by the powerful to protect themselves and legislators and regulators need to speed up reform.
OUR STRATEGY
Our campaign will focus on 4 strategies.
01
LOBBYING
GOVERNMENTS
Lobbying government to recognise that NDAs are currently being used to create dangerous environments and that the law needs to be changed.
02
PUBLIC
AWARENESS
Building public awareness of the immoral use of NDAs and give people the information and power to say “no” to signing.
03
CODES OF
PRACTICE
Advocating that regulators, businesses and institutions adopt a code of practice that will not allow NDAs to hide information about harmful people, practices and products.
04
A SAFE
PLATFORM
Providing a safe platform for people who have been pressured to sign an NDA to anonymously step forward and share how it has affected them.
who we are
Zelda Perkins
Co-Founder UK
Zelda Perkins has been campaigning since 2017 when she was the first woman to break an NDA, signed decades earlier, with Harvey Weinstein. She brought the systematic abuse of NDA’s to the attention of the British Government and international press, giving evidence at two parliamentary inquiries, which have uncovered an epidemic of misuse, and pushing the England and Wales Solicitors Regulatory Authority to take disciplinary action against the lawyer who created her NDA for Weinstein. Her actions have been inspiring others, to come forward by her example. Zelda was named a Person of the Year by Time magazine in 2017 and by the Guardian in 2020.
Julie Macfarlane
Co-Founder CANADA
Professor Julie Macfarlane is a Canadian law professor, Member of the Order of Canada, who has won many awards for her work in advocating for access to justice. In 2016, in her personal negotiations with the Anglican Church, she persuaded the Church and their insurer to end the default practice of forcing NDAs on victims of clerical abuse. Later that year4, she discovered that a colleague terminated following an investigation for harassment and other misconduct was protected by an NDA that had been negotiated before his departure from the University of Windsor, and that he had been able to move to another law school who knew nothing of his history. The University continued to hide the facts in the NDA enabling the perpetrator to successfully sue her for “defamation”.
THE CAMPAIGN TEAM
We have a fantastic team of volunteers working to achieve the goals
of the campaign.
Stacey Buchholzer
Coordinator
Liz Le Clair
Fundraising
Braunte Petric
Videography
Sharon TOdd
Legal Researcher
JULIE SHARRARD
Financials and Event Planning
SHANNON HANCOCK
Testmonial Checker
Neville McKay
Testimonial Checker
nancy patrick
Testimonial Checker
BARB MOONEY
British Colombia Petition
bernie mayer
In the News
ZEBEDEE HELM
Illustrations
partners
Below are some of our amazing partners who we are working with to realise the goals of the Can’t Buy My Silence campaign.
STUDIO NINETYONE
Design Partner
Studio NinetyOne is a brand focused design agency based in East London and North Cornwall. Since 2005, we have worked with an eclectic mix of clients who understand the value of great design. We are known for creating brands full of character and heart. As part of our commitment to social change we worked with Co-founders Zelda Perkins and Julie Macfarlane to develop the unique Can’t Buy My Silence brand and creative as part of their campaign to ban the misuse of non-disclosure agreements. As a design agency we are committed to supporting the campaign to end the mis-use of NDAs to cover up wrong-doing in the design industry and beyond and our proud to play a part in its development.
BILL EYERS
Campaign Consultant
Bill Eyres is a sustainability and social justice campaigner who has worked in politics, the charity sector and for ethical businesses like The Body Shop and The Co-operative Bank and major brands like O2. He has worked on high profile initiatives against the financing of landmines, domestic violence, trafficking of women, and climate change with well known campaigners like Anita Roddick, Jonathon Porritt and Emma Thompson. Bill has a won a variety of awards for his work including the Winner of the Global Good Awards Individual Outstanding Leadership Award in 2015 and with the agency VCCP a Webby in 2019 for a campaign on online child safety.
SPEAK OUT REVOLUTION
Data Insights Partner
Speak Out Revolution is an award winning not-for-profit, founded in 2020, with a mission to cancel the culture of silence on harassment and bullying in our workplaces. They provide a safe platform for targets of workplace harassment and bullying to anonymously speak out via their Speak Out Dashboard and use the collective insights to raise awareness, educate and empower everyone to become allies for more inclusive work environments. Find out more about their work at speakoutrevolution.co.uk. You can help us collect information on the prevalence of NDAs as well as bullying and harassment by completing our survey here.
BREAKTHROUGH IMPACT
Strategy & Campaign Development Partner
Breakthrough Impact identify high potential leaders with experience and grassroots campaign groups focused on the most pressing social justice issues of our time. They support them to develop and execute winning strategy and connect them to the world class networks they need to drive transformative change. Co founder Katherine Sladden has been at the forefront of some of the UK's most high profile campaigns as a founding director of Change.org before Breakthrough Impact whilst Co founder David Pinto Duschinsky brings his experience from senior roles across Government in the 90's including special advisor to the Chancellor and Home Secretary to deputy Director in the Prime Minister's strategy unit.
our allies
UK
JESS PHILLIPS MP
Labour MP for Birmingham, Yardley Shadow Minister for Domestic Violence and Safeguarding
“NDA’s must not be allowed to silence those subjected to harassment or abuse in the workplace. Perpetrators of sexual violence and harassment must be held to account – it cannot be right that Non-Disclosure Agreements can be used to stop victims speaking out.”
Georgina Halford Hall
Whistleblowers UK – CEO
“WhistleblowersUK wholeheartedly supports the “Can’t buy my silence” campaign because it is essential to public safety that use of NDA’s to silence whistleblowers is banned without further delay. We are committed to tackling not only NDA’s but the unscrupulous organisations that deploy them to shield their unlawful behaviour.”
1752 Group
“The 1752 Group are proud to support Can’t Buy My Silence. Our work on sexual harassment in higher education shows that universities will go to great lengths to avoid transparency – but greater transparency is urgently needed in order to start holding institutions accountable. Banning NDAs is an urgently-needed step towards gaining justice for sexual harassment survivors.”
Ben Nicholson
#NDAFree
“Real long-term change to prevent NDAs being used to cover up bullying, harassment and abuse will only happen through reform of legislation and a change in attitude of regulators and employers. Bullies and perpetrators should not be enabled to continue their abuse by a legal instrument based on intimidation. I therefore wholeheartedly support the Can’t Buy My Silence campaign.”
Rt. Hon. Maria Miller MP
Conservative MP for Basingstoke prior Minister for Women and Equalities
“When used unethically, NDAs are catastrophically damaging to victims, and immoral because they allow employers to routinely cover up abuses without consequence.This is why I’m pleased to to partner with the Can’t Buy My Silence campaign and introduce my Bill to Parliament to outlaw these kinds of NDAs. Let’s expose the problem with NDAs once and for all, so that victims are silenced no more”.
Professor Richard Moorhead
Professor of Law and Professional Ethics at the University of Exeter Prior Chair of Law and Professional Ethics and Vice Dean in the Faculty of Laws at University College London
I believe routine and overzealous use of NDAs help institutionalise wrongdoing and the bullying of victims and I support ‘Can’t buy my Silence’ and it’s four excellent strategies.”
canada
Marilou McPhedran
Independent Canadian Senator
“The use of NDAs to silence the victims of harassment and discrimination has become a default in so many settlement agreements and complaints processes. In the Canadian Senate, making a formal harassment complaint may now require the complainant to agree to an NDA in order to even enter the process. I support the Can’t Buy My Silence campaign to ban NDAs in these circumstances and shall be bringing forward a Bill in the next session of the Canadian Parliament after the federal election.”
Lynne Lund
MLA for Summerside-Wilmot, Prince Edward Island and the Deputy Leader of the PEI Green Party
“We’re well past the point where legally binding someone to hide an illegal offense is acceptable for our society. And yet, forced silence is now standard practice for settlement agreements. This protects serial harassers, and doesn’t serve the public interest. We all deserve better. That’s why I am a supporter of the Can’t Buy My Silence campaign and I’m happy to be introducing legislation in Prince Edward Island this fall that will ban NDAs in cases of sexual misconduct, discrimination or harassment. This is a conversation that’s long overdue"
Linda Crockett
Founder, Canadian Institute of Workplace Bullying
“The award-winning Canadian Institute of Workplace Bullying Resources (CIWPBR) has been assisting employees and employers for over 10 years, offering training, consultations, and a combination of coaching, teaching, guidance, advocacy, and counselling services for any of the individuals who need services. We work with many who are significantly (negatively) impacted by NDA’s and believes that NDAs cause great harm to victims as well as third parties. CIWPBR is proud to be counted as an ally of the Can’t Buy My Silence campaign!”
Tiffany Butler
Executive Director, National Association of Women and the Law
“The National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL), founded in 1974, is a not-for-profit feminist organization in Canada that promotes the equality rights of women through legal education, research, and law reform advocacy. NAWL fully supports the “Can’t Buy My Silence” Campaign and is pleased to be joining a coalition of organisations across the world advocating for the end of NDAs. NAWL commits to the campaigns four principles including supporting the call for legislative change to ban all NDAs and the prioritization of protecting victims, as well as promoting transparency and accountability of workplace harassers/abusers/bullies, tortfeasors, institutions, and employers.”
Deepa Matoo
Barrister & Solicitor, Executive Director, Barbara Schlifer Clinic
“The Clinic supports Can’t Buy My Silence because we believe in working together as allies to stop violence and build movements, we believe silencing is a form of violence and a systemic change in this area can only happen when diverse voices and experiences ask for the change for everyone and understand that individual experiences are embedded in systems and structures that need to change.”
Jan Wong
Author, Journalist and Subject of an NDA
“I support the CBMS campaign because NDAs protect the powerful and gag the powerless. Corporations, churches, and CEOs brandish NDAs during settlement talks, thereby suppressing freedom of speech and bullying their victims until death. The implication for the rest of society: the powerful are never held accountable. They get away with illegal, immoral and unethical behavior — until the next victim crosses their path.”
Kelsy Dundas
Community Partnerships & Outreach Coordinator, WomenatthecentrE
WomenatthecentrE is a survivor centered and led non-profit organization eradicating all forms of gender-based violence (GBV) against women, trans, 2 spirit and gender diverse folks! This work heavily involves supporting and advocating alongside survivors who navigate the patriarchal, inaccessible, and harmful legal system, which generates, perpetuates, and amplifies harm for survivors, their families, and communities. We stand with Can't Buy My Silence because we believe and support survivors of GBV, anti-Black racism, and all forms of supremacy and harm, who've been silenced, harmed, and made invisible through the use of NDAs from corporations, unions, institutions, and persons!
International
Ifeoma Ozoma
Co-sponsor of Silent No More Bill California
“I am delighted to fully support the Can’t Buy My Silence campaign to ban NDAs. The use of concealment clauses like nondisclosure and nondisparagement agreements in instances of harassment, discrimination and other unlawful behavior does nothing to help individuals, organizations, or companies. Those abusive clauses only protect wrongdoers and any efforts to continue their use must be addressed through legislative and other means. I’m proud to have co-sponsored legislation in California, the Silenced No More Act, that will allow the victims of any type of discrimination or harassment to tell their own stories, regardless of the language in a nondisclosure or nondisparagement agreement. There is no possibility of accountability without transparency.”
Ann Moulds OBE
International Anti-Stalking Coalition
“A Non-Disclosure Agreement is a legally binding agreement that is used to protect a companies, or a persons sensitive and confidential information. What it is not, should never be and cannot ever be used for is to hide heinous crimes and avert the course of justice thereby relegating the victim to an inner horror of silence.It is an inconceivable practice that only serves to mimic the very behaviour that we stand against. The ability to hurt others. It has been allowed to continue for far too long and it must stop”
Gretchen Carlson
American Broadcaster
"As Lift Our Voices works towards changing the law across the US to ban the misuse of non-disclosure agreements, we are delighted to support and work alongside Can't Buy My Silence in Canada and the UK. Working to stop the harm and cover-up caused by the widespread use of NDAs in cases of misconduct is now a global movement. We share Zelda and Julie's passion to make this change a reality and improve the lives of victims - and potential victims - of harassment and discrimination. "
Furaha-Joy Sekai Saungweme - Regional Coordinator AESHI
Cultural equivalencies to formal NDAs are unwritten agreements aimed at paying off a victim of sexual misconduct with cash or other benefits; It also encompasses a range of hostile forms of behaviour aimed at intimidating a victim into silence. We will continue to use all available platforms to fight this abuse of power.
Press backgrounder
Information on the campaign and its current actions for media outlets. For further updates please contact us at info@cantbuymysilence.com
