Men’s Development Network (MDN) provides services and a series of training and health promotion programmmes to clients where sensitive and confidential information is sometimes disclosed as part of our clients’ involvement with the organisation.
These services include:
• A confidential Helpline for Men affected by domestic abuse, concerned relatives, and family members, and other agencies working with them (MAL Helpline);
• A behaviour change programme for Men who have been violent or abusive within their intimate partner relationships (MEND Programme);
• A Counselling Programme supporting men affected by marginalization and relationship issues;
• A Wraparound client support programme for men affected by domestic abuse
• Health promotion and development programmmes
• Parenting programmes
• Domestic, Sexual, and Gender-Based Violence prevention programmmes
• Training & development programmmes
This document explains how MDN will ensure all confidential information obtained during our clients’ involvement with the organization will be treated according to the broad understanding of confidentiality within the limits of the law in the Republic of Ireland.
This policy should be read in conjunction with MDN’s Privacy Policy and Data Subject Access Request Policy.
This policy applies to all employees, facilitators, counsellors, contract workers, interns, volunteers and any other personnel undertaking work on behalf of the Men’s Development Network where they might become aware of clients’ sensitive information.
All interactions with our services and programmes — whether by phone, text, chat, email, or in person — are treated as strictly confidential and all information is collected only if shared by our clients voluntarily.
We do not record information about clients unless explicitly stated and consent is obtained. Consent can be obtained in writing, or verbally during phone calls with clients.
In accordance with good professional practice, MDN’s employees, facilitators, counsellors, contract workers, interns, volunteers and any other personnel undertaking work on behalf of the Men’s Development Network may also discuss matters during supervision or support sessions with Line Management or Clinical Supervision Practitioners who are under the same obligations regarding confidentiality.
To provide our services, we may need to collect information about our clients, which includes:
• Information clients choose to share during conversations or disclosures
• Clients’ contact details as required for the administration of our programmes and services
• Details about referrals we receive from other organisations on behalf of our clients
We do not collect or store personal identifiers unless our clients voluntarily provide them.
Confidentiality is essential, but there are rare situations where we may need to share information to protect our clients or others. We may break confidentiality only when:
• A client expresses a clear and immediate intention to harm themselves
• A client expresses a clear and immediate intention to harm someone else
• A child or vulnerable adult is at risk of harm
• We are legally required to disclose information (e.g., court order)
Whenever possible, we will discuss this with our clients before taking any action.
Any information shared with us is used for:
• Providing support and training during clients’ interactions with MDN
• Administration of our services and programmmes
• Improving the quality of our services and programmmes
• Anonymous statistical reporting for compliance and research purposes
In order to provide a better or more effective service to our clients, sometimes we may need to liaise with external organisations, e.g., contacting other support agencies. In these circumstances, we will ask for the client’s permission to share any relevant information.
If any information is stored, we ensure:
• We have obtained our clients’ explicit consent to store and process their personal information
• We use secure and encrypted systems to store and process the information
• Access is limited to authorized staff, contractors or volunteers
• We regularly review our data protection practices to ensure best practices are followed and adhered to at all times
• Compliance with relevant laws, including GDPR
• Information is kept only for as long as necessary for operational or legal reasons.
Our clients have the right to:
• Remain anonymous when calling the MAL helpline for support.
• Decline to answer any question, if it requires sharing any information they are not comfortable sharing.
• Request that MDN deletes or amends any personal information they have provided.
Men’s Development Network (MDN) provides services and a series of training and health promotion programmmes to clients where sensitive and confidential information is sometimes disclosed as part of our clients’ involvement with the organisation.
These services include:
• A confidential Helpline for Men affected by domestic abuse, concerned relatives, and family members, and other agencies working with them (MAL Helpline);
• A behaviour change programme for Men who have been violent or abusive within their intimate partner relationships (MEND Programme);
• A Counselling Programme supporting men affected by marginalization and relationship issues;
• A Wraparound client support programme for men affected by domestic abuse
• Health promotion and development programmmes
• Parenting programmes
• Domestic, Sexual, and Gender-Based Violence prevention programmmes
• Training & development programmmes
Contact details to access records men@mensnetwork.ie
