NDAs have been blamed for keeping victims quiet. This Vancouver violinist is breaking hers by Robyn Doolittle, Dec 17, 2025, The Globe and Mail
Esther Hwang, legally, can’t talk about any of it.
She isn’t allowed to tell people that she filed a sexual-assault complaint against one of her then co-workers at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO). And she can’t discuss the events around the alleged assault, the ensuing investigation or how it was resolved.
This is because in 2019, Ms. Hwang signed a settlement with the orchestra that included a confidentiality agreement. In exchange for about $7,100 – the majority of which was to reimburse counselling expenses – and a guarantee that the alleged perpetrator would leave the orchestra, the violinist gave up her right to ever speak about what happened.
But just weeks after signing, Ms. Hwang alleges that the VSO began to professionally retaliate against her, first by offering her less prestigious roles and then by dramatically cutting her hours to the point that, by early 2020, she was no longer working at the orchestra. 
Douche Fuckers! Boycott the fucking rape-enabling VSO!
(The VSO denies that Ms. Hwang’s complaint affected the roles she was offered or her hours and noted that an external investigator hired by the orchestra found Ms. Hwang’s allegation of retaliation was unsubstantiated.)Pfffft! That’s like Genocidal Israel investigating itself for war crimes
Now, Ms. Hwang has decided to break that confidentiality agreement – which many colloquially refer to as a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) – to speak out against their use.
Ms. Hwang, 30, is coming forward at a time of evolving laws around the use and enforceability of NDAs.I believe everyone, notably those raped, that signed NDAs ought to break them because violating charter rights is illegal, so NDAs are also illegal. Shame on the fucking judges that allow them and or order them.
While these types of agreements are widely and uncontroversially NOT ALWAYS!!!!!used in business to protect commercial secrets and defend institutional reputationsand when they also rape!, the use of NDAs in cases of alleged criminality, harassment and discriminationand health harm and contamination of drinking water, poisoning of air by companies like Bayer-Monsanto, oil and gas companies, coal and other mining companies has raised ethical and legal questions.Gag orders, NDAs, violate our charter rights!
This issue came to the forefront in 2017 with the #MeToo movement, after revelations in The New York Times and New Yorker magazine that Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein had been serially abusing women in the industry for years. Mr. Weinstein had been using NDAs to prevent his victims from speaking out against him.
This is the concern with NDAs in these types of cases: Predators can use them as weapons to continue abuse. Meanwhile, without public scrutiny, workplaces and institutions are never forced to change.The fucking Patriarchy and rape religions are a large reason for gags and NDAs to keep rapes by men and companies going strong. Disgusting.
Since then, jurisdictions acrossONE PROVINCE and partially in another is not across! Canada and the United States – mostly the latter – have passed bills restricting the use of NDAs in certain circumstances, most commonly in cases of alleged discrimination, sexual abuse or harassment.
In Canada, Prince Edward Island became the first province to pass such a bill in 2021. Ontario also enacted legislation that limited the ways universities can deploy NDAs in instances of alleged sexual impropriety. Other provinces, including Nova Scotia and Manitoba, have considered similar legislation, but the bills haven’t moved forward for a variety of reasons. The fucking patriarchy and rape religion! Carney is a catholic, he’ll never do anything to hold rapists to account or to help rape victims, not even kids. His catholic bosses will never permit itNevertheless, there is still momentum for change.
In British Columbia – where a 2024 private member’s bill did not advance beyond a first reading – a provincial spokesperson told The Globe and Mail that the Ministry of the Attorney-General is exploring both legislative and non-legislative ways to address the misuse of NDAs. They expect to announce more in 2026.
And this past June, the Senate of Canada heard a first reading of the Can’t Buy Silence Act, which would restrict the use and enforceability of NDAs in federally funded entities.What lame shit is this? It ought to nationwide in everything!
The bill has been put forward by Independent Senator Marilou McPhedran: “I just think it’s fundamentally wrong to have a legal device that perpetuates an abusive or toxic workplace.”
Law professor Julie Macfarlane, who is the co-founder of the advocacy group Can’t Buy My Silence, said the push for these laws has become bipartisan. Recently, Texas passed such a law, joining states such as California, New York, Illinois, Washington, Arizona and Utah.
The bills take different approaches. Some don’t outright ban the use of NDAs in instances of abuse. Why the fuck not?Rather, lawmakers put restrictions and conditions around how they can be used, Ms. Macfarlane said.
For example, the PEI legislation says a non-disclosure clause cannot “adversely affect the health or safety of a third party or the public interest.” Ms. Macfarlane said this condition is designed to prevent serial offenders from continuing the behaviour.
The PEI law also requires that the person has not faced any undue pressure to agree to confidentiality.No confidentiality ought to be allowed, not just that obtained by coercion or force or more abuse
In Ms. Hwang’s case, she alleges that the VSO made it clear that she would need to sign the confidentiality agreement if she wanted to continue working at the orchestra.
(The VSO says that because of the confidentiality agreement, it cannot comment on this allegation.)
Ms. Hwang, a child prodigy who attended the Juilliard School, began working for the VSO in early 2017 as an extra violinist. Extras can still perform regularly, but they are essentially contracted freelancers. In her first two years, Ms. Hwang performed nearly every week, documents show.
But at the same time, Ms. Hwang says a married, senior member of the orchestra began making unwanted sexual advances. The behaviour escalated, she says, culminating in the man allegedly sexually assaulting her at a party after a show, while she was extremely intoxicated.
Ms. Hwang said it took her time and counselling to process the event. Eventually, Ms. Hwang hired a lawyer and, in March, 2019, filed an official complaint against the VSO. In this document, which has been viewed by The Globe, Ms. Hwang included a text message that the accused allegedly sent to her, in which he repeatedly apologized. He said it was never his intention to take advantage of her and that he had been “blind to the situation.” He said he was “terribly sorry for all that has transpired.I will atone for this as long as I live.”
The accused did not respond to requests for comment.
After Ms. Hwang’s complaint, the VSO launched an investigation, but it was never completed.
As part of the settlement – which involved four parties: Ms. Hwang, the VSO (legally the Vancouver Symphony Society), the accused and the union – Ms. Hwang agreed to withdraw the complaint.
Opinion: #MeToo changed our culture, but it couldn’t change our courtsOf course not. The legal-judicial industry’s job is to revictimize and shame rape victims, while vigorously protecting rapists, notably raping oil, gas, bitumen and frac companies, and most especially rape religions, politicians and the rich!
But soon after signing the confidentiality agreement, Ms. Hwang alleges the VSO began offering her lesser roles and eventually no work at all. It was professionally humiliating, but she couldn’t explain herself to anyone. She grieved for years in silence.The fucking raping catholic church and Patriarchy’s intent with NDAs: cause victims more debilitating harm after the horrific harms of rape. Evil.
And then in early 2024, Ms. Hwang says she learned from another musician that a rumour was going around that she had had a consensual affair with the alleged perpetrator, and this was why they were both gone. (The Globe spoke to the individual who told Ms. Hwang about the rumour and the person confirmed the account.)
“All of your fears of what the NDA does to you just became reality. You’re just faced with a choice – should I tell this person what really happened?” Ms. Hwang said.
In that moment, Ms. Hwang decided to start telling people her story. She also asked the VSO to be released from the NDA, but the orchestra refused, an e-mail viewed by The Globe shows.Fuckers! Boycott that fucking charter-violating rapist-protecting symphony!
When Ms. Hwang filed another complaint with the VSO alleging retaliation, the orchestra hired Southern Butler Price LLP I would trust nothing they produce! They’re fucking lawyers paid by the symphony, they’ll only protect where the money comes from.to investigate. In May, 2025, the firm produced a report with its findings, which The Globe has reviewed.
The investigator concluded that Ms. Hwang’s hours dropped because the orchestra added new extras who were then slotted above her on the call list. The report found that Ms. Hwang fell further because she declined several offers of work in 2019, including for roles that she believed were less prestigious.
In an e-mailed statement to The Globe, VSO president and CEO Angela Elster says the orchestra has always treated Ms. Hwang’s allegations seriouslyNot true! If that were true, the VSO would NEVER make a rape victim sign an NDA, violating her charter rights, and further harming her and that the external investigation found no evidence to substantiate claims of retaliation by anyone at the VSO.
“We of course appreciate the perspectives on the use of NDA and the laws around them are evolving. However, this agreement dates back to 2019, and we cannot unilaterally unwind or waive a binding agreement between four parties. Nor can any individual party,” Liar! NDAs fucking can be unwound! Ms. Elster said.
Gillian Hnatiw, a Toronto-based lawyer who specializes in representing complainants who have experienced sexual harassment and sexual violence, understands the good intentions behind the new laws restricting NDAs; however, she has some reservations.
In many negotiations, an employer’s main goal is to protect its reputation. A promise of silence is one of the few pieces of leverage a victim may have to secure a good settlementFUCK~! There is NO good settlement for rape, Ms. Hnatiw said.
“A careful balance is needed,” she said. “For some women, moving quickly and quietly is the best option available to them. We shouldn’t judge them if the law doesn’t offer them better choices.”
Ms. Hnatiw said there are changes that could be made, which may be more helpful to a complainant. For example, legislatures could pass laws that would allow complainants to sue for sexual harassment, but too many Canadian judges let rapists go free, even those that admit they raped! Our judicial industry is a misogynistic rape religion-controlled rape protector she said. Currently, these cases are usually dealt with before human rights tribunals, where damage awards typically top out in the low tens of thousands.and where the rapists have all the power!
This is why so many complainants feel they need to accept settlement offers, because their best-case scenario isn’t enough to compensate them for what they’ve lost, such as wages and the cost of counselling, Ms. Hnatiw said.
For Ms. Hwang, she believes NDA use in cases like hers is unethical. She feels that not being able to speak openly about her experience has made it harder to heal. Moreover, she thinks that, because she was prevented from talking, the VSO has never had to face accountability for how it handled her situation.Boycott the fucking rape-enabling VSO!
“I’ve worked on myself for the last six years. I am in a position where I don’t rely on the VSO anymore. I want to be the voice for the people who can’t speak up,” said Ms. Hwang, who has since found other success in the industry as a violinist.
Ms. Elster declined to comment on whether the orchestra would take legal action against Ms. Hwang for violating the confidentiality agreement.I think NDAs are illegal – they violate our charter rights. Courts and lawyers need to start respecting the fucking rule of law in Canada. Everyone that signed or was forced to sign an NDA ought to speak fully and publicly, claiming they are exerting their Charter rights. The more victims that break their NDAs, the more rape enablers and rapists lose their power.
Refer also to:
2024: Canada’s judicial-pedophile industry strikes again. Judge Reginald Harris sentence contradicts his verbiage, kisses child porn collector Nicholas Kyle David Symons with tiny stay free sentence, let’s him attend school and run errands. Law societies (self regulators of lawyers) licence known convicted pedophiles to practice law; pedophile lawyers become pedophile judges.
2019: “It’s the judges!” enabling rape and murder of women. No kidding. In Canada too.
