MCC leaders insist that nondisclosure agreements are used only “a handful of times,” mainly to protect workers in volatile regions. But an analysis of 83 cases documented by MAST tells a very different story. NDAs appear far more frequently, applied mostly in Canada and the US—not war zones—and never as mutual protections. Our data show that NDAs function as tools of silence rather than safety. With dozens of leaders implicated and many stories still hidden, the pattern is unmistakable. MAST’s analysis exposes a systemic practice that demands transparency, accountability, and urgent external review.

Guest post 2 on NDAs by Into Account Executive Director Stephanie Krehbiel.

The short version: NDAs sustain and reproduce the most spiritually violent tendencies in organizational cultures. Abuse of all kinds–sexual, psychological, financial, spiritual, physical, emotional–thrives in cultures of silence. The normalization of NDAs makes that silence feel both necessary and legally enforceable.

Guest post 1 on NDAs by Into Account Executive Director Stephanie Krehbiel.

I've been trying for years to get Mennonites to start paying attention to abuse-related NDAs, and mostly I feel like I've failed. Mennonites have so much trouble believing that their institutions are like other institutions. But that's the case for every religious group that has its own institutions… The comprehensive silence they can buy with that hush money is just far too tempting.