DVHopeline Digital and Phone Privacy Statement
The DVHopeline is managed by New Beginnings, which provides all advocacy services on www.dvhopeline.org and through 24-hour telephone services at 206-737-0242 or toll free at 877-737-0242.
The DVHopeline Digital Services
Engaging in our confidential digital services means that you have reviewed and agreed to our privacy policy. Digital services are defined as web-based chat, and any DVHopeline website or web-based comment section.
If you contact DVHopeline by online chat and feel at any time that your safety or privacy may be compromised by using digital services, we encourage you to:
- End the chat.
- Close your web browser so that there is no history of your visit to dvhopeline.org on your device.
- Call the DVHopeline for support at 206-737-0242 or 877-737-0242.
Confidential and Anonymous Services
When you contact the DVHopeline by phone or chat, your communication is anonymous unless you voluntarily share your name. If you do not share your name during a phone or chat contact with a DVHopeline advocate, we cannot connect you as an individual with any information we maintain in our records about the interaction.
All phone and chat conversations with DVHopeline advocates are confidential unless you give us permission to share your information with another agency for the purpose of a referral. Please see the Mandatory Reporting and Legal Disclosure sections below for exceptions to this confidentiality policy.
The DVHopeline does not record phone calls or create transcripts of chats.
The DVHopeline does not sell, trade or rent personal information that phone or chat users provide. All advocates, including volunteers, are required to sign a client confidentiality policy.
DVHopeline Records
You have the option of sharing your name with a DVHopeline advocate if you would like us to save your personally identifying information and some basic information about your situation in our records. Some survivors choose to do this so they will not have to repeat their story when contacting DVHopeline in the future. In such cases, the information saved in our records is not detailed or extensive. You are not required to have personal information saved in our records to access DVHopeline support.
DVHopeline Referrals
Some referrals that the DVHopeline provides to other agencies require us to collect personal contact information in order to facilitate the referral. In this case, we will seek your permission to collect your name and safe contact information. Then, with your permission, we will share your contact information and information about your situation and needs, with the specific agencies to which you agree to be referred.
You are not required to share any personally identifying information to receive support from the DVHopeline.
Collection of Demographic Information
If you contact the DVHopeline by phone, at an appropriate moment during the call you may be asked to share demographic information that helps us and our funders learn who is being served by the DVHopeline.
Sharing demographic information is completely voluntary and you are not required to share information to receive support from the DVHopeline.
If you contact the DVHopeline by online chat, before you connect with an advocate you will be invited to share some minimal personal information to facilitate service with an advocate. You may also be asked to share other demographic information at an appropriate moment during the chat.
Sharing demographic information is completely voluntary and you are not required to share information to receive support from the DVHopeline.
Digital Safety Measures
The DVHopeline prioritizes user privacy and safety. We do not save IP addresses, or use “cookies,” which are pieces of data that remain stored on your web browser after you have visited a website. This data is used to identify specific computers or users to track website activity.
Mandatory Reporting
The DVHopeline’s advocates are considered mandatory reporters by law where the neglect or abuse of minor children or vulnerable adults is suspected. Users will be made aware that in situations regarding the welfare of a minor or vulnerable adult, any personally identifying information disclosed will be reported to child or adult protective services as required.
Legal Disclosure
We may access and/or disclose personally identifying information shared with us if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to the edicts of the law or (b) comply with a legal process served on us.
Other Websites
Our site and services offer links to other websites. Please note that when you click on one of these links, you are entering another website for which the DVHopeline has no responsibility. We encourage you to read the privacy statements on all such sites as their policies may differ from ours.
Notification of Policy Changes
The DVHopeline reserves the right to change, modify or add to our privacy policy to protect the ethical standards provided or to meet the changing demands of digital advocacy. Notification of any changes to The DVHopeline’s privacy policy will be posted to our homepage at www.dvhopeline.org to inform service users of these revisions. We encourage you to review it frequently.