THE CAMPAIGN GOAL
The goal of our campaign is simple – legislative and regulatory change that will make NDAs unenforceable for anything other than their original purpose – the prevention of sharing confidential business information (“intellectual property”) and trade secrets.
NDAs are unnecessary for protecting victim identity (which can be protected with a simple one sided confidentiality clause), catastrophically damaging to innocent parties, and immoral when they hide harmful information from the public.
Every day NDAs are being used by the rich and powerful to protect themselves. Legislators and regulators must speed up reform and we are here to make sure this issue stays firmly on their radar.
OUR STRATEGY
Our campaign will focus on 4 strategies.
Lobbying government to recognise that NDAs are currently being used to create dangerous environments and that the law needs to be changed
Building public awareness of the immoral use of NDAs and give people the information and power to say “no” to signing.
Advocating that regulators, businesses and institutions adopt a code of practice that will not allow NDAs to hide information about harmful people, practices and products.
Providing a safe platform for people who have been pressured to sign an NDA to anonymously step forward and share how it has affected them.
WHO WE ARE
ZELDA PERKINS
Zelda Perkins has been campaigning since 2017 when she was the first woman to break an NDA, signed decades earlier, with Harvey Weinstein. She brought the systematic abuse of NDA’s to the attention of the British Government and international press, giving evidence at two parliamentary inquiries, which uncovered an epidemic of misuse, and pushing the England and Wales Solicitors Regulatory Authority to take disciplinary action against the lawyers who created her NDA for Weinstein. Zelda was named a Person of the Year by Time magazine in 2018, by the Guardian in 2020 and in 2023 awarded for her Outstanding Contribution to Gender Equality by UN Women UK. Her character was portrayed by Samantha Morton in the UNiversal Pictures feature “She Said” documenting her part in the downfall of Weinstein.
Co-founder UK
JULIE MACFARLANE
Professor Julie Macfarlane is a Canadian law professor, Member of the Order of Canada, who has won many awards for her work in advocating for access to justice. In 2016, in her personal negotiations with the Anglican Church, she persuaded the Church and their insurer to end the default practice of forcing NDAs on victims of clerical abuse. Later that year, she discovered that a colleague terminated following an investigation for harassment and other misconduct was protected by an NDA that had been negotiated before his departure from the University of Windsor, and that he had been able to move to another law school who knew nothing of his history. The University continued to hide the facts in the NDA enabling the perpetrator to successfully sue her for “defamation”.
Co-founder CANADA
PARTNERS
Below are some of our amazing partners who we are working with to realise the goals of the Can’t Buy My Silence campaign.
STUDIO NINETYONE
Design Partner
Studio NinetyOne is a brand focused design agency based in East London and North Cornwall. Since 2005, we have worked with an eclectic mix of clients who understand the value of great design. We are known for creating brands full of character and heart. As part of our commitment to social change we worked with Co-founders Zelda Perkins and Julie Macfarlane to develop the unique Can’t Buy My Silence brand and creative as part of their campaign to ban the misuse of non-disclosure agreements. As a design agency we are committed to supporting the campaign to end the mis-use of NDAs to cover up wrong-doing in the design industry and beyond and our proud to play a part in its development.
SPEAK OUT REVOLUTION
Data Insights Partner
Speak Out Revolution is an award winning not-for-profit, founded in 2020, with a mission to cancel the culture of silence on harassment and bullying in our workplaces. They provide a safe platform for targets of workplace harassment and bullying to anonymously speak out via their Speak Out Dashboard and use the collective insights to raise awareness, educate and empower everyone to become allies for more inclusive work environments. Find out more about their work at speakoutrevolution.co.uk. You can help us collect information on the prevalence of NDAs as well as bullying and harassment by completing our survey here.
BILL EYERS
Campaign Consultant
Bill Eyres is a sustainability and social justice campaigner who has worked in politics, the charity sector and for ethical businesses like The Body Shop and The Co-operative Bank and major brands like O2. He has worked on high profile initiatives against the financing of landmines, domestic violence, trafficking of women, and climate change with well known campaigners like Anita Roddick, Jonathon Porritt and Emma Thompson. Bill has a won a variety of awards for his work including the Winner of the Global Good Awards Individual Outstanding Leadership Award in 2015 and with the agency VCCP a Webby in 2019 for a campaign on online child safety.
BREAKTHROUGH IMPACT
Strategy & Campaign Development Partner
Breakthrough Impact identify high potential leaders with experience and grassroots campaign groups focused on the most pressing social justice issues of our time. They support them to develop and execute winning strategy and connect them to the world class networks they need to drive transformative change. Co founder Katherine Sladden has been at the forefront of some of the UK's most high profile campaigns as a founding director of Change.org before Breakthrough Impact whilst Co founder David Pinto Duschinsky brings his experience from senior roles across Government in the 90's including special advisor to the Chancellor and Home Secretary to deputy Director in the Prime Minister's strategy unit.
