Jane Doe

by Will Braun | Published 15th August 2011 in Social Change | 1

Credit: www.theglobeandmail.com

Fleeing domestic abuse, “Jane Doe” cut all ties with her past and started her life over from scratch. “You have what’s called a paper shredding party,” she told me. She left home with no identification, no credit cards, no bank account, and no record of employment. She said no goodbyes. All she took with her was her young daughter “Janet.”

After finally being relocated with new identities following an eight-year process at the hands of a secretive and inefficient federal identity change program, the Does started their lives over. Then the Alberta government mistakenly published their old and new names together for anyone with Internet access to see. The fear of their former lives returned.

See the article I wrote about Jane and Janet Doe in today’s Globe and Mail.