The Dilemma of Client Privilege

The word that came into my mind after going through this prompt description was TRUST.

You know there are places we go simply because we believe we are safe and protected no matter any negative thing we want to disclose. It could be a visit to a doctor, to a priest for confession, to a lawyer, etc. These are places people confidently reveal things they may not have told anyone, with the belief that the info/secret is safe. This kind of trust is what client privilege means.

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However, this prompt is asking if keeping such a secret or info could cost a life. Should doctors, priests or lawyers still remain silent in respect to the ethics of their profession, or should they speak and save a life?

Personally, I believe that client privilege is important. This is because, without it, many people will hold a lot of secrets within them and could go on and on to keep living negatively because there is no one to help talk to them and give them that sense of security. I believe no one wants to be embarrassed publicly; if they cannot speak freely and be safe, they won't seek professional help in the first place.

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Take for instance, I walk into the hospital with HIV with the intention of getting treatment. If I know that the doctor will disclose my health condition, I won't tell him anything to avoid getting embarrassed even when I desperately need treatment to live. The same thing applies to those seeking spiritual guidance through confession or even legal advice from a lawyer.

That reminds me, I saw a video titled 'Confession Gone Wrong'. You know, in the Catholic Church, members are encouraged to do confession to the priest prior to receiving holy communion. The priest is meant to stay a distance away from the person doing the confession, and the priest is also to back away from the person to avoid knowing the identity of the person. Another ethic is that the sin confessed must be kept secret forever.

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All this is to make members talk freely and feel safe, but in that video, the atrocity committed by this lady was so heavy that the priest didn't know when he crossed the boundary but was screaming and turning to face her one on one and even requested to see her parents because what she had done was too heavy to keep as a secret. The lady began to plead and reminded the priest that what she confessed was meant to remain between them and not be disclosed to her parent, but yet, the priest didn't care because someone's life was in danger because of the girl, and action needed to be taken to save life before it was too late.

In this case, client privilege was set aside because a life was on the line, but the result is that people will be scared to go for confession after that, knowing that their secret might not be safe, so permit me to say that this is complex, and that means people would keep secrets,doing what they are doing wrongly without someone to give them attention.

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Now, let's imagine a world without client privilege. People will hide a lot of secrets or info that would have been let out with a solution. Many people are struggling with addictions, even depression and other terrible situations we can think of, but due to fear of being exposed, they won't speak out.

Overall, I am of the opinion that client privilege should remain active, but where a life is at risk, it should not be ignored.

image was taken from canva