Breaking Code Silence

The mission of Breaking Code Silence is to prevent institutional child abuse in residential facilities and to empower adult survivors to engage in positive self-advocacy. We utilize education, outreach, research, and community organizing to protect the civil and human rights of youth in congregate care.

We do so by:

• Advocacy - Breaking Code Silence supports all survivors in honoring and affirming their testimonies, assisting with legal reporting, providing connection, and helping survivors at all stages of their journeys. We are united by our mission and actively seek to partner with similar organizations that envision a future that actively affirms the human rights and dignity of all youth.
• Awareness - In collaboration with healthcare professionals worldwide, Breaking Code Silence educates the public about the deep roots of abuse, neglect, and coercion throughout the Troubled Teen Industry and the congregate care system. We work to prevent future placements and encourage evidence-based community treatments that strengthen and empower youth and their families.
• Legislation - Breaking Code Silence educates and partners with local, state, and federal government leaders to aid in the crafting and passage of laws that protect youth in congregate care, close loopholes of accountability, and include the testimony of survivors as central in this process. We see effective regulation as a key element in both ending and preventing institutional child abuse.
• Research - Breaking Code Silence initiates, leads, and supports research into the activities, proliferation, and long-term effects of Troubled Teen Industry facilities and youth congregate care. With large-scale data collection and global research collaboration, we highlight the irrefutable harm of existing practices and provide assistance with both academic and legal investigations.