The Foundation of Anonymity and Reporting Illegal Activity

Recently, primarily as a result of the Jerry Sandusky trial, the Pennsylvania State House is voting on changing the laws regarding mandated reporting. Mandated reporting is defined as the requirement for certain individuals (doctors, teachers, therapists, lawyers, policemen, social workers, etc. ) that have contact with children, disabled persons, senior citizens, or other identified vulnerable populations in the ordinary course of their work are therefore required to report whenever financial, physical, sexual, neglect or other types of abuse have been observed or are suspected. Some states, like NJ and Delaware have expanded this law to include everyone, not just certain professionals – are mandated to report abuse.

During the years of The Augustine Fellowship, S.L.A.A., and Fellowship-Wide Services’ existence, several inquiries have come to FWS’s attention regarding the disclosure of illegal or dangerous acts by members to members. FWS has issued a statement discussing these changes States have made regarding disclosure of illegal or dangerous acts and expanded mandated reporting laws. This FWS statement will be sent out to members on a monthly basis by GDVI, and GDVI is requesting each meeting look at this statement and consider introducing The Foundation of Anonymity statement into the meeting format, or duplicating the entire statement so it is available for members to read.

FWS realizes we are all governed by our own conscience and our own moral compass. FWS also has its own compass, the 12 Traditions of SLAA. FWS encourages members to study and understand the Traditions in this discussion, especially Tradition 12, anonymity being the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, and Tradition 10, understanding that SLAA, particularly FWS has no opinion on outside issues; hence the S.L.A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.

In matters associated with crimes or illegal activity, US courts have not extended the status of privileged communication, such as that enjoyed by clergy, doctors and lawyers, to 12 step mutual support groups like SLAA. Communications regarding disclosure of illegal or dangerous acts shared between members, at meetings or with sponsors are not privileged and may be required by state law to be reported by all individuals.

As follows are some hypothetical scenarios that fit into the classification of illegal acts :

  • A member tells us that s/he is HIV positive and having unprotected sex with people.
  • A member reports that s/he has committed a sex crime against an adult.
  • A member reports that s/he has committed a sex crime against a minor.
  • A member reports that s/he is committing incest.
  • A member reports that their spouse, their partner or their child is committing crimes or engaged in illegal activity.
  • A member reports that s/he has committed a crime or is engaged in illegal activity.
  • A member commits a crime or illegal act at a meeting or against another member of the program.
  • A member tells their story, which involves an illegal act, to a sponsor or sponsee or at a meeting.
  • A member reports that s/he is a recent or ongoing victim of a sex crime, incest, molestation, or illegal activity.
  • A member is arrested due to a crime and the police are asking members outside of the meeting for details about the person or the crime.

In all cases, the following is suggested:

  • People must remember when they are sharing at a meeting, with their sponsor or sponsee, or with fellow members, that anonymity does not exempt them from the repercussions of their actions.
  • Members must understand that anonymity in a 12 step meeting, is not the same thing as privileged communication, which a legal privilege is granted to a lawyer or a doctor.
  • Members should remember that there might be individuals attending the meeting who are legally mandated to report crimes or illegal activity. These individuals include: social workers, teachers, medical professionals and law enforcement personnel.

These laws are recently being expanded and are changing across the U.S. to include not just certain professionals, but everyone will be mandated to report illegal activity – so check your local state laws to ascertain if your state has expanded their mandated reporting laws. Although, people at the meetings are attending for their own recovery, we are powerless over an individual’s moral conscience. At anytime a person attending a 12 step meeting may feel morally obligated to report what they have heard in a 12 step meeting to the legal authorities. Depending on the law of the state in which you are meeting, meeting attendees may be found to be liable in a federal criminal action or may be liable in a civil action for failure to report criminal activity.

If a crime or illegal activity is happening currently, it is the policy of the F.W.S. office to advise the victim to contact the police or legal authorities accordingly. There is a distinction between the individual members, the individual meeting groups, GDVI and F.W.S. They are all separate entities and are responsible only to themselves. Some groups have chosen to include a statement within their format to specifically address this issue. Other meetings choose to duplicate this entire message and distribute this message at the meeting or place on a literature table. A recommended statement for insert into a meeting format is as follows:

The Foundation of Anonymity

Anonymity is the foundation of our program. It is essential if we are to continue the 12 Step work of S.L.A.A. However even this basic principle may give way to the pressure of individual consciences or legal requirements. Therefore we, the members of this S.L.A.A. meeting, make clear to newcomers and old timers alike that speaking of any potentially illegal activity, especially relating to minors, endangers the speaker and lays a burden of knowledge on others that they may not be willing to assume. This includes statements made individually to members, including to your sponsor, which is not a legally protected relationship.

This message represents the Greater Delaware Valley Intergroup, the Board of Trustees of SLAA, and Fellowship Wide Service’s recommendations, considering the Traditions and in conjunction with the FWS attorney. The BOT, FWS or GDVI does not discourage legal compliance or the reporting of criminal activity, and nothing in this statement should be interpreted to imply otherwise.

Updated: October 15, 2018