Hi, friend! Following our prior discussion, I heard the word “guilty knowledge”, would you kindly elaborate for me?

Not at all.

Thank you so much.

Sure. Other situations in the prison context, referred to as “dirty hands syndrome” or “guilty knowledge”, may also cause difficulties with confidentiality. For instance, researchers may witness or be entrusted with information that indirectly implicates them in illegal activities or that may lead them to suspect that they could be considered accomplices if they remain silent. In some cases, for instance, an assistant witnessed a drug deal between a visitor and an inmate, several inmates confided that they used drugs while incarcerated, and a prisoner threatened a fellow inmate. In all these cases, the research team wondered how to respond, sometimes even turning to ethics committees for help, while always recognizing that the integrity and security of the detainees, the institution, and the researcher as well as the continuation of the project must be at the forefront of its decision process. That being said, it is important to recognize that special circumstances may require more flexible limits before confidentiality is broken and that it is necessary to rely on the clinician’s or researcher’s good judgment. For example, condoms are distributed to the inmates, even though sexual relations between them are prohibited, and bleach is available for the sterilization of injection equipment, part of an equally outlawed practice. Such officially prohibited situations are tolerated because they do not compromise the safety of others or the institution.