The Pattern 

Written by Jenna Bulis

By 2023, I had no interest in continuing conflict. The lawsuit filed against me had been dismissed. I wanted to move on. I was focused on building ICAPA Network and pursuing systemic reform. The work was gaining traction. We were taking meetings with policymakers. Momentum was finally building.

But the attacks did not stop.

On April 18, 2023, Katherine McNamara aka Katie Mac subpoenaed Chelsea Filer into her ongoing lawsuit with the Breaking Code Silence 501c3 organization. Chelsea was not a party to the case. She was not involved in the dispute, yet the subpoena demanded discovery of all communications between Chelsea and I. It was a clear attempt to weaponize the legal system to access personal and private conversations. This was not about justice. It was a predatory data grab, aimed at control and intimidation.

When advocates are forced to hand over personal communications under the threat of litigation, it creates a chilling effect. It punishes people for caring, for organizing, for speaking truth. It turns private grief into public spectacle. It undermines advocacy at its core by creating fear around transparency, collaboration, and dissent.

Then in June 2024, Katie Mac’s lawyer escalated. I received a formal demand to preserve evidence. The letter included a warning that I might be involved in a lawsuit for malicious prosecution. It was designed to intimidate me into silence. I responded in legal terms that made my position clear. I would not be bullied.

Just a month later, something powerful happened. On July 11, Teen Torture Inc: The Dark Side of Discipline premiered on HBO Max. The documentary gave survivors a platform to tell their stories, and it traced the roots of the troubled teen industry. ICAPA Network’s name appeared onscreen. My own voice was there, brief but present. I used that moment to speak to a national audience. We are fighting for systemic reform, and the biggest obstacle is not just the institutions, it is the people who protect them.

In December 2024, Katie Mac resurfaced again. She posted in the Facebook group that once belonged to Breaking Code Silence, announcing plans to file another lawsuit and again naming me. I had spent years dealing with her attacks. I was exhausted. On December 24, I made a public statement asking her to stop and to allow everyone to move forward. I knew she would not.

The following month, in January 2025, Katie Mac launched a website called WWASP Survivors Truth. The site included an entire section under my legal name. It featured multiple pages of personal details, mischaracterizations, and targeted attacks. This was the fourth time I had been doxxed. This was not public accountability. This was an attempt to control the narrative by smearing my name. There are now entire websites dedicated to attacking survivors, including people no longer here to defend themselves. Pages filled with accusations and distortions. The most troubling part is how easily misinformation can be packaged as truth. It is not advocacy. It is a smear campaign.

Let me be clear. There are no posts showing me harassing Katherine McNamara. Her claim of harassment is false. At no point did I dox her, threaten her, or encourage others to do so. I have never called for violence against her or her family. These claims are not just wrong. They are maliciously dishonest.  

One of the main points being twisted is the issue of mandated reporting. I said mental health calls and child protective services reports were being made on survivors. That was true. I never named who made those calls. I said the behavior needed to stop. I am a mandated reporter and I have never called CPS or a mental health welfare check on a survivor, I have never needed to. I have admined survivor support groups for over 7 years. Social media groups should not be that involved in it’s members lives. Chelsea said that any group with a policy of reporting on its members needed to consider the risk and rethink that policy. That is what responsible advocacy looks like.

I will not attempt to address every falsehood on that site. There are too many. But I will say this. People do not like Katie for their own reasons. Many of those people have never worked with me. I do not control what others post online. I do not coordinate campaigns against people. I do not manage the internet. If she has a problem with the public response to her actions, perhaps she should speak directly to the people who have publicly criticized her. That is not on me.

The page targeting Jen Barr is especially hard to stomach. I will not speak for Jen. Her story is hers to tell. But I will say what happened to her was painfully familiar. Jen and I were at Spring Creek together. We survived the same place in 2000 and 2001. We survived something again in 2020 and 2021. I believe Jen is a wonderful mother. I believe she loves deeply and with her whole heart. She tried to warn me about trusting Katie Mac. I wish I had listened. I was too busy trying to survive to hear her pain clearly. What has been done to her since feels like an attempted character assassination. The page written about her is offensive, inaccurate, and disturbing. It should not exist. Its existence says more about the character of the person who created it than it does about Jen.

These are not the actions of someone seeking justice. They are the actions of someone trying to control a narrative they cannot defend. I will not play along. The truth will stand on its own. Doxxing is not advocacy, subpoena abuse to violate privacy is not justice, filing lawsuits against other survivors only brings shame upon our cause. These tactics only harm survivors and discourage others from speaking up. Advocacy cannot grow in the shadow of threats and coercion. Sometimes the patterns we fought to break find new ways to resurface. What happened inside Breaking Code Silence is a cautionary tale. Not just of one person or one conflict, but of what happens when movements lose their moral compass. When control becomes more important than collaboration. When personal agendas replace shared mission.

What we built mattered. It still does. Breaking Code Silence opened a door that had been locked for decades. Survivors stepped through it and spoke. We challenged powerful institutions. We demanded policy reform. We changed the conversation. And none of that can be erased by a website or a lawsuit. This is not about winning or losing. It is about making sure the next survivor has a clearer path. It is about making sure the next generation does not have to go through what we did. It is about creating systems that heal instead of harm.

To anyone who has been targeted, discredited, or isolated while trying to tell the truth, I see you. You are not alone. And your voice still matters. To anyone still standing in this work, keep going. Keep telling your story. Keep pushing for change. The road is hard, but it is worth it. And to the movement itself: Remember who you are. Remember why we began.

The fight was never just about the past. It has always been about the future.