Privacy Policy for Abuse Awareness

Last Updated: April 27, 2025

1. Introduction

Welcome to UC AbuseAwareness ("we," "our," or "us"). We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data, especially given the sensitive nature of the information shared on our platform. This privacy policy will inform you about how we carefully handle your personal data when you visit our website and tell you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you.

This privacy policy aims to provide you with information on how we collect and process your personal data through your use of this website, including any data you may provide when you share your story, contact us, or engage with our content.

2. Data Controller

AbuseAwareness is the controller and responsible for your personal data. If you have any questions about this privacy policy, including any requests to exercise your legal rights, please contact us using the details set out below.

Contact Details:

• Email: [contact@abuseawareness.org]

• Phone: 888-650-0238

3. The Data We Collect About You

Personal data means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (anonymous data).

We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about you which we have grouped together as follows:

• Identity Data includes first name, last name, username, alias, or similar identifier. We respect your choice to remain anonymous.

• Contact Data includes email address and telephone numbers.

• Sensitive Personal Data includes information about experiences of sexual abuse or harassment that you voluntarily share with us. This is treated with the highest level of confidentiality.

• Technical Data includes internet protocol (IP) address, your login data, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform, and other technology on the devices you use to access this website.

• Usage Data includes information about how you use our website.

• Communication Data includes your preferences in receiving communications from us.

We take extra precautions with sensitive personal data related to abuse experiences, including enhanced security measures and strict access controls.

4. How We Collect Your Personal Data

We use different methods to collect data from and about you including through:

• Direct interactions. You may give us your Identity, Contact, and Sensitive Personal Data by filling in forms, submitting your story, or by corresponding with us by phone, email, or otherwise.

• Automated technologies or interactions. As you interact with our website, we may automatically collect Technical Data about your equipment, browsing actions, and patterns. We collect this personal data by using cookies, server logs, and other similar technologies.

• Third parties. We may receive technical data from:

  • Analytics providers such as Google Analytics

  • Our website hosting platform Wix.com

5. How We Use Your Personal Data

We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data in the following circumstances:

• Where we have your explicit consent to do so, particularly regarding sensitive information about abuse experiences.

• Where it is necessary for our legitimate interests in documenting historical abuse within the UC system, and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.

• Where we need to comply with a legal obligation.

Purposes for Which We Will Use Your Personal Data

We have set out below a description of all the ways we plan to use your personal data:

• To contact you about your submission within 48 hours as promised

• To process and securely store the experiences you share

• To compile anonymized patterns of institutional responses to sexual abuse (only with your explicit consent)

• To manage our relationship with you

• To enable you to participate in the documentation of historical abuse

• To administer and protect our website

• To deliver relevant website content to you

• To inform you about the status of our initiative (if you opt in)

6. Data Security

We have implemented appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used, accessed, altered, or disclosed in an unauthorized way. All submissions are encrypted on arrival as stated on our website. Nothing will be published or shared without your written consent.

We limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors, and other third parties who have a legitimate need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

7. Cookies

Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and allows us to improve our site. A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or the hard drive of your computer.

We use the following cookies:

• Strictly necessary cookies. These are cookies that are required for the operation of our website, such as cookies that enable you to log into secure areas.

• Analytical/performance cookies. These allow us to recognize and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it, helping us to improve the way our website works.

• Functionality cookies. These are used to recognize you when you return to our website, enabling us to personalize our content for you and remember your preferences.

• Targeting cookies. These record your visit to our website, the pages you have visited, and the links you have followed, which may be used to make our website and any advertising displayed on it more relevant to your interests.

You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies or to alert you when websites set or access cookies. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this website may become inaccessible or not function properly.

8. Data Retention

We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of documenting historical abuse within the UC system and satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data, and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

Given the historical documentation nature of our project, with your explicit consent, we may retain your submitted experiences for an extended period to contribute to the historical record. However, your contact details will be retained only as long as necessary for communication purposes.

9. Your Legal Rights

Under certain circumstances, you have rights under data protection laws in relation to your personal data:

• Request access to your personal data

• Request correction of your personal data

• Request erasure of your personal data

• Object to processing of your personal data

• Request restriction of processing your personal data

• Request transfer of your personal data

• Right to withdraw consent at any time where we are relying on consent to process your personal data

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided in section 2.

You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive, or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.

10. Third-Party Links

This website may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins, and applications, including resources for mental health support and crisis lines. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave our website, we encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.

11. Changes to the Privacy Policy

We keep our privacy policy under regular review. This version was last updated on the date noted at the top of this page. Historic versions can be obtained by contacting us.

12. Children's Privacy

Our website is not intended for children under 16 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you are under 16, please do not provide any information on this website or through any of its features. If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under 16 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information.

13. California Privacy Rights

If you are a California resident, California law may provide you with additional rights regarding our use of your personal information. To learn more about your California privacy rights, please see our CCPA Privacy Notice for California Residents, available upon request.

14. Special Considerations for Abuse Survivors

We understand the sensitivity and significance of the information shared on our platform. We take additional measures to protect the privacy and emotional wellbeing of those who share their experiences:

• All submissions are encrypted upon receipt

• Nothing will be published or shared without explicit written consent

• Survivors may use aliases or remain anonymous

• We provide clear information about how your story will be used

• You maintain control over your contribution and can update or withdraw it

• Support resources are available if sharing your experience causes distress

15. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or our privacy practices, please contact us using the details provided in section 

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You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or your state's consumer protection authority. We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach a regulatory authority, so please contact us in the first instance.