Medium Article : We know firsthand that survivors are silenced. It’s time that changed.

It’s a nightmare scenario for anyone — being assaulted, harassed, demeaned, or otherwise violated at work. Imagine that kind of treatment in the place where you spend most of your waking hours, supporting yourself and your family. Now imagine that you have finally found the courage to hold these predators responsible for victimizing you and other employees, but you are unable speak out about your mistreatment publicly. Often, in the many pages of documents you signed at the start of that job is a clause that prevents you from publicly discussing workplace toxicity or from taking legal action in court to get justice for yourself and protect others from abusers.

This nightmare is one that thousands of people across the country must deal with every year, having unwittingly signed nondisclosure agreements or contracts with clauses that force them to take up matters of workplace toxicity, such as sexual assault and harassment or race and gender discrimination, in secret arbitration, instead of in a courtroom.

Photo Credit: Mackenzie Stroh, Hollywood Reporter

And it is a situation with which we are far too familiar. In 2016, Gretchen left Fox News, suing its former chairman Roger Ailes personally for sexual harassment because a forced arbitration clause in her contract precluded her from suing Fox News in open court. In 2017, Julie sued Fox News and Ailes’ successor for sexual harassment and retaliation. A nondisclosure agreement prevents each of us from ever sharing details publicly, even though they may help other women both in and out of Fox News.

We are silenced by mechanisms that prevent transparency and serve only to protect predators and their enablers. Sadly, we are no exception to the rule: today, one in three Americans are silenced by NDAs, and more than 60 million Americans are bound by forced arbitration clauses in their employment contracts.

The professional cost is staggering. Imagine applying for a new job and saying to your prospective boss, “I can’t tell you,” when asked about why you left your previous place of employment. Imagine having to stand by silently when others misconstrue the reasons for your departure, knowing that you are legally unable to respond. It is no wonder that of the thousands of women we have spoken to over the last several years, most never work in their chosen fields again.

The psychological toll is enormous too, precluding survivors from sharing their harrowing experiences with anyone, even family members and friends. The constant self-censorship is wearying. Before answering even the most mundane questions about their workplace experiences, many workers have to pause and consider whether any part of the answer will violate their NDAs. Everyone else has the freedom to gossip about them, but they do not have the legal right to correct the record. Often, they do not know whether they are the only ones singled out for harassment, discrimination or retaliation, or whether the NDAs are covering up a systemically hostile environment. That, of course, is the whole point — to prevent workers from sharing their stories and banding together to put an end to the bad behavior.

That is why we founded Lift Our Voices, a nonprofit dedicated to eradicating NDAs and forced arbitration for toxic workplace issues. As survivors ourselves, this is our mission — and we want to protect and empower women, men, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and anyone affected by workplace toxicity.

We have heard thousands of stories from survivors across the country since founding Lift Our Voices, and we’re advocating on their behalf for significant changes to federal and state law that prohibit this forced culture of silence. We believe that all survivors should have the power to own their own stories, to be free to speak publicly about the harassment they have experienced at work, and to hold their abusers accountable without fear of retaliation.

We’re joining Medium to share our stories, and theirs, with you, so that we can all join together in fighting the scourge of silencing survivors. As a united front, we can call for corporations to end these harmful practices that perpetuate toxic environments in workplaces across the country, and ensure the places where workers across the country earn their living are safe and respectful for all.