The safety of victims and their loved ones can be increased by creating evidence packets and distributing them to trusted parties. Crime evidence held by trusted parties may safeguard victims and loved ones against being killed, disappeared, permanently disabled, etc., in order to lose or destroy all evidence.
Typical evidence included inside of the sealed packets:
- Identifying information on victims
- List of other victims, alive, dead, disappeared, and any identifying demographics
- Identifying information on the perpetrators and suspected any perpetrators
- Identifying information on any potential future victims and an explanation for this concern
- List of people at current risk of being killed, tortured, held captive, etc.
- Photographs of all of these people
- Description of the abuse
- Descriptions of the threats
- Descriptions of any abductions
- Descriptions of abuse locations and any suspected locations, including suspected dark websites
- Documentation corroborating abuse, e.g., medical evidence, emails, audio-visual recordings, etc.
- Health and mental health providers who may have documentation or corroborating evidence.
- Past reports to law enforcement, child protection, etc., including those that were dismissed, etc.
- Rationale for not reporting some or all of the crimes to law enforcement (e.g., the victim believes that reports to law enforcement would increase the dnager to the victim, loved ones, etc. “It’s better to point a gun than to fire your only bullet and have nothing else.”) (See: http://endritualabuse.org/legal-ethical-dilemmas-reporting-abuse-2018/)
- Video-record (e.g., flashdrive)
Information Included on the Cover-sheet of the Safety Packet
1. Brief description of the purpose of the safety packet (as above), including the identities and contact information for parties that the packet was created to protect:
- Name: Phone: Email: Address:
- Name: Phone: Email: Address:
- Name: Phone: Email: Address:
- Name: Phone: Email: Address:
- Name: Phone: Email: Address:
2. List of the kinds of evidence in the sealed packet (as above)
3. List of kinds of harm or foul play that the abusers may commit, e.g., murder, disappearance, vehicular accidents, suicides made to look like murders, foul play to induce medical illness or incapacitation, false claims of mental incapacitation to institutionalize individuals in psychiatric facilities
4. List of the first group of people who have been given these packets. It is advisable to ask the people in this first group to provide the packet to one or two people they trust, but not to share these names with the person preparing the packet so that person can never be coerced to reveal the names of all of the parties who hold the packet.
5. Instructions to the first group of people to do the following:
- Hold the existence of the evidence packet confidential
- Keep the packet sealed and safely secure where it cannot be found except by the people to whom it has been entrusted.
- If you become aware of any harm or suspected foul-play to any of the protected parties above, contact the other parties to coordinate efforts. Unseal the packet if that is part of the plan. If the remaining parties cannot be found to coordinate efforts, you are authorized to unseal this packet, to release the enclosed information to law enforcement, to child protection, to legislators, and to the public, and to advocate for the affected individuals.
6. Victim authorization: In the case of the death, disappearance, or mental incapacitation, of myself or ___________________________, I, authorize all of the people to whom I have entrusted these packets to release all information and material in these packets to each other and to law enforcement, child protection, the courts, legislators, the press, and to anyone else. This authority includes oral and written communication and the furnishing of copies of protected health information (PHI). The specific use of the released PHI is to search for me and anyone else who may have disappeared, and should I die or become mentally incapacitated, to investigate the people who abused me, to protect the victims, and to work to bring the perpetrators to justice. I place no limitations on the information to be released. This authorization is valid until ______. I understand that I may revoke or modify this authorization, but must do so in writing. I understand this can not change the fact that some PHI may have been sent or shared before that date. I also understand that: a) I do not have to sign this authorization. My refusal to sign will not affect my abilities to obtain treatment; b) I may inspect and have a copy the PHI described in this authorization; c) If the person or entity receiving my PHI is not a health care provider or health plan covered by federal privacy regulations, the information described above may be redisclosed and no longer protected by those regulations. I hereby release the above parties from any legal liability that may arise from my authorizing the release of this confidential information. I understand that I have a right to receive a copy of this authorization. I affirm that everything in this form that was not clear has been explained. I believe I now understand all of it.
Signature of Victim __________________________
I, witness (preferably a mental health provider), have discussed the issues above with the client. Observations of his behavior give me no reason to believe he is not fully competent to give informed/ willing consent: Sign:
Creating a Video Record to Increase One’s Safety
Survivors who believe they may be killed, “suicided,” or abducted should make a clear and convincing video-record in which they state their fear of being murdered or disappeared, their desire to live rather than to suicide, their having no intention to willfully disappear, and their opinion about who may want to cause them such harm. This may decrease the likelihood that an abuser network will harm the victim in these ways. Here are some guidelines for making a Safety Video-record:
Steps:
- Fill out your responses to the following questions.
- Have someone ask you these questions while video-recording you.
- Refer to this form to remind you of all of your key points.
- Express genuine emotion to get your point across and to make the authorities and the press more likely to use the video-record as evidence.
- Distribute copies of the video-record widely.
- Have holders of the video-record secure it safelty.
- Attempt to make it widely known (e.g., speaking engagements, publications, e-mails, conversations on telephones you believe to be tapped) that the video-record is widely distributed and will be released to the press, concerned parties, and law enforcement, if you die of suspicious causes or disappear.
Questions:
- What individuals or groups of individuals do you believe want you dead?
- Why would these parties want you dead?
- Can anyone support or corroborate that these parties have harmed you?
- What methods do you believe these parties use to murder or disappear people?
- Do you believe there have been any previous attempts on your life? If so, describe the suspected assailants and methods used.
- Are you suicidal?
- Why do you want to live?
- Under what circumstances would you ever suicide?
- Do you abuse life-threatening substances?
- Do you have lethal weapons or substances in your home?
- Do you drive safely? What is your record of traffic accidents and violations?
- Do you have any desire to flee your current home and support persons?