Which statement helps protect confidentiality of complaint forms?

• A. Keep all complaint forms separate and confidential
• B. Share with classmates
• C. Post on bulletin board
• D. Store in open folder

Answer: (A)

Protecting confidentiality of complaint forms is about restricting access to sensitive information so only those who need to know can see it. Keeping all complaint forms separate and confidential ensures that students’ identities and details of any dating-violence concerns aren’t exposed to classmates or the wider school community. This reduces the risk of embarrassment, retaliation, or stigma, and aligns with privacy policies and ethical responsibilities in schools. To support this, store forms in secure ways—locked cabinets for paper copies or password-protected digital files—and limit handling to designated staff involved in the reporting or investigation process. In contrast, sharing with classmates, posting publicly, or leaving forms in an open folder would expose private information and violate confidentiality.