Back up your buddy lists, log out of Sametime and then have your administrator delete all instances of your documents from vpuserinfo.nsf and ensure that the database replicates to all cluster members. Then log in to Sametime and import your buddy list and you will have no privacy settings enabled. I have seen this many times and the best way to resolve is from the server.
http://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSKTXQ_8.5.0/com.ibm.help.sametime.user.doc/st_connect_client/t_st852_uim_export_contact_list.html
https://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/stwiki.nsf/dx/Importing_and_exporting_contact_lists