When a person phones a confidential helpline, irrespective of the organisation running that helpline, they have to have faith that the confidentiality offered is real and assured.

If there is doubt – or worse, proof that it plain isn’t confidential – the effect on end users is clear: trust is broken, they won’t call. And sadly, if faith in confidentiality is rocked at one organisation, why would vulnerable end users trust any organisation?

Confidentiality is a black and white issue. It either is there, or it isn’t. Confidentiality doesn’t come with conditions. It is a true or false state. You can’t have confidentiality… oh, unless you’re telling us something really juicy. Confidentiality assured… well, unless we take umbrage with what you’re telling us. Sure it’s confidential, unless you’re dobbing on the office of a man who one of our patrons is in direct opposition to*.

Because there is the rub, whatever ‘reason’ for the statements to the media, however Christine Pratt sold it to herself, the National Bullying Helpline naming an office from which several confidential calls have been made, is wrong. And one of her patrons thinks so too, and has quit.

The Samaritans, for example, often take calls on, arguably, more serious subjects. They take calls from paeodophiles and rapists. The content of some of the calls is, I’m sorry but it is, worse than those from someone being bullied at work. And they don’t tell. They don’t name any specifics. When a Samaritans volunteer does break confidentiality, even in the case of a murder confession, they can no longer stay with the organisation. That’s how crucial, how sacrosanct, confidentiality needs to be.

Christine Pratt’s decision to talk will send ripples throughout the support services world. It can take numerous dead calls before someone dares speak to the voice at other end of a helpline. It can take months of learning the number off by heart before daring to say something out loud, to someone, confidentially.

It doesn’t take a lot to choose not to call for another day. I dare say a public breach of confidentiality could well stop someone ever calling.

So that’s a bullied person, feeling vulnerable and unsupported.  That’s a victimised neighbour not calling for support after years of attacks and vandalism. That’s an abused child not picking up and calling Childline. And all to score political points and drum up PR for one charity, while shooting every other supportive charity in the foot. I fail to see the charitable act in any of this.
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* Conservative Rt Hon Ann Widdecombe MP is one of the patrons of The National Bullying Helpline. In fact, the organisation has quite a lot of blue blood sloshing around. Conservative Councillor, Mary O’ Connor, Boris Johnson’s chair of London Health Commission is also a patron. And there’s a lovely personal endorsement on the organisation’s homepage from one David Cameron.

There are lots of other question marks that I’m not political enough to scratch about in, the politics of this isn’t what interests me, frankly. I’m sure there are lots of similar issues in left-learning organisations, of course, but if you’re interested, this guy has been digging.