Over the past few months, I’ve been exploring an idea that started as a thought exercise and grew into something bigger: The Relational Harm Index (RHI) white paper.
The RHI is a conceptual framework designed to measure and acknowledge invisible wounds, non-criminal emotional harms like betrayal, abandonment, manipulation, or moral injury. These are the kinds of experiences that don’t show up in legal codes or medical records. Nevertheless, they shape how we live, how we connect, and how we trust.
Today, I’m excited to share that the first white paper on the RHI is now live.
Why This Matters
Our current systems, legal, medical, technological, track the harms we can measure: broken bones, lost revenue, breached contracts. The emotional injuries that ripple across families, workplaces, and communities still go unacknowledged. The RHI is an attempt to bring structure, visibility, and language to those invisible wounds.
By pairing this framework with emerging AI tools, we can begin exploring ways to recognize relational harm consistently, responsibly, and at scale.
What You’ll Find in the White Paper
The paper covers:
- The gap between legally measurable harm and emotionally significant harm.
- A scoring framework (0–50) for assessing relational injuries across ten dimensions.
- The potential role of AI in recognizing and mediating harm.
- Real-world applications in healthcare, education, justice, and workplace culture.
- Risks, criticisms, and ethical safeguards.
- A forward-looking perspective on how this tool might support the ethical evolution of society.
Read the Full Paper
If you’re curious to dive deeper, you can read the full Relational Harm Index white paper here:
👉 [Read the full white paper here]
Join the Conversation
This is just the beginning. My hope is that the RHI sparks dialogue, challenges assumptions, and inspires others to think differently about how we acknowledge and respond to the invisible wounds that shape our world.
Thanks for reading and as always, I’d love to hear your thoughts.