CEP Magazine (May 2024)
A recent issue of SCCE’s Corporate Compliance Weekly News contained a link to a startling report I was not previously familiar with. An investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard found numerous instances of sexual assault spanning many years.[1] However, in the aftermath of the investigation, senior leaders decided not to voluntarily report the findings to Congress, instead waiting several years until being forced to do so.
Deciding whether to self-disclose to key stakeholders can be a complicated decision, one faced by companies every year. And the initial steps in making such decisions may not differ much from how the Coast Guard handled its decision. Lists of the pros and cons of self-disclosure were made. Among the benefits of disclosure were things like being proactive rather than reactive, ripping the Band-Aid off, and purging cultural guilt. They even acknowledged that “if things are bad, they get worse” with nondisclosure.
However, they also identified the disadvantages of coming forward with their investigation’s findings. Among these were the risks of future investigations without an end and “re-victimizing.” These ultimately outweighed the benefits of disclosure in the eyes of those making the decision to disclose only upon request.
I don’t have any insider knowledge here, so this is mere speculation on my part. But as I read the report, one of the feelings I sensed was fear. The group seemed to know the right thing to do. However, they were too focused on the fear associated with the potential bad things that could happen if they voluntarily reported what they knew to Congress.
As compliance professionals, we often assume that people will self-report (or do something else that may seem a clear choice to us) based on the premise that “it’s the right thing to do.” But, we should also recognize that even if people are inclined to do the right thing, fear of what could happen can overwhelm this desire. Part of our job should be to acknowledge the risks while also developing a plan for dealing with those risks as a way of dealing with the fear that sometimes accompanies doing the right thing.
1 Blake Ellis and Melanie Hicken, “Coast Guard leaders made list of reasons not to tell Congress about explosive sexual assault investigation, new records show,” CNN, February 16, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/16/politics/coast-guard-sexual-assault-senate-records-invs/index.html.
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