Cherish truth tellers
Dear Friends of Courage,
One of the steps to nurture institutional courage is: “Cherish the whistleblowers; cherish the truth tellers.”
Most whistleblowers and truth tellers have had to overcome enormous pressure to be silent about an unacceptable reality. While the pressure to be silent can come from individuals, it is particularly insidious when it comes from institutions with power. Institutions can counter this enormous pressure to be silent by establishing a system that rewards truth telling.
On June 2nd I was one of three panelists on a live webinar, “The Cost of Silence: Power, Retaliation, and the Fight to Speak Out,” hosted by Gretchen Carlson and Julie Roginsky. A primary focus of the webinar was on the role of institutions in silencing whistleblowers. DARVO, defamation lawsuits, and NDAs were among the discussion topics.
Two days prior to the live webinar an opinion piece was published in the New York Times that touched on several of the same themes including the role of DARVO in silencing victims. Although the webinar and opinion piece focus on resisting silence about sexual violations in the workplace, the dynamics can be found in all instances of ongoing and repeated institutional betrayal.
Speaking truth and cherishing the truth teller are deeply important to protecting democracy, reducing institutional betrayal, and increasing institutional courage from government.
All the best,
Jennifer Joy Freyd, PhD
Founder and President
Center for Institutional Courage