Survivor Stories Deserve Better: A Call for Survivor-Informed Journalism

Since #MeToo went viral in 2017, stories about survivors in the media have skyrocketed. But far too often, the way these stories are told has caused even more harm. 

We believe that storytellers have a responsibility to speak truth to power and that storytelling can create space to empower survivors. By “storytellers,” we mean journalists, reporters, editors, content creators, social media influencers, advocates, researchers, experts, and anyone who uses their platform to share stories with a broader audience. The Code of Ethics created by the Society of Professional Journalists asks to minimize harm by treating everyone with dignity and respect. This includes survivors and how we talk about abuse, violence, and trauma. Our shared goal must be to combat this existing crisis, in part by addressing the myths and misinformation that contribute to it.

Most storytellers do not have standardized knowledge about trauma or how to work with survivors. Even storytellers with the best intentions can dehumanize survivors. Given the existing legal system and culture of violence, survivors are rarely granted autonomy and authority over their own stories. When survivors have to reshare their story over and over again, they may relive the experience all over again, too, creating additional layers of trauma. In this process they are often met with disbelief, pressure, shaming, and blaming, which can lead to more trauma and victimization, making it harder for them to heal and move forward.

Both survivors and storytellers can be harmed in this process. Storytellers may also be survivors. Both face risks of legal liability, harassment, job loss, and negative impacts on their own health and wellbeing. If storytellers take on the responsibility of telling survivor stories, they must prioritize survivor’s autonomy and dignity. 

In our push for survivor-informed journalism, we are sharing a list of proposals that aim to guide ethical reporting and dialogue about power-based violence. We have compiled this list based on existing best practices in the field of survivor support, findings from academic literature, and knowledge grounded in decades of grassroots feminist anti-violence organizing. This list is nonexhaustive, as every survivor’s experience of trauma is unique. We urge storytellers to commit to serve the needs of survivors with diverse backgrounds, sociocultural positions, and experiences. We hope to grow an influential coalition of survivors and their allies who stand behind these proposals. 

This list of proposals can serve multiple purposes. It can give survivors who are the subject of media coverage a framework to advocate for themselves and seek accountability. It can educate and inform journalists and content creators. It can be a tool for community oversight and support. And it can be one of many steps toward justice for survivors. 

Small changes can lead to big differences. Survivors deserve better. Survivor stories deserve better.

For those who are interested in signing this letter, instructions can be found below. 

Proposals For Survivor-Informed Journalism 

1. Recognize The Power Of Your Platform And Voice. Because of the trust an audience grants to storytellers, they hold the power to influence public opinions and culture. Storytellers must be accountable to survivors, challenge the normalization of violence, and stay mindful of when your words or stories could cause harm, especially to systemically marginalized survivors and their communities.

2. Build Knowledge About Trauma. This includes basic understanding of trauma-informed interviewing, cultural humility, trauma responses, legal liability, and retaliation by perpetrators, institutions, and communities. Additionally, journalists and content creators should seek a variety of informed perspectives throughout the reporting process.

3. Ensure Survivor Perspectives Are Heard. Survivors often face disadvantages compared to those who caused harm, who may have legal or PR support. Storytellers must give survivors the same opportunity to share their perspectives and respond to allegations. Storytellers should reach out to survivors directly impacted by their work for comment before publication, even when sourcing from legal documents or official statements. Attempts to contact survivors should be thorough, reasonable, and made to the best of one’s ability.  

4. Respect Survivor Consent. Storytelling requires survivor consent for their stories being shared. Consent should be ongoing throughout the reporting and storytelling process. Survivors have the right to revoke their consent (and story) at any point for any or no reason.

5. Commit To Compassionate And Transparent Engagement. When a survivor reaches out to share their story, storytellers should respond with care and clarity: listening without judgment, setting honest boundaries, and being transparent if they cannot take on the story. 

6. Honor Participants’ Identities. Storytellers should confirm how participants wish to be identified, including names, pronouns, and other personal identifiers. Storytellers should never deadname and should not name the victim without their consent. Storytellers should respect whether a source is speaking anonymously.

7. Offer Accommodations. Accommodations and access should be offered and best efforts made to grant them. These may include language interpreters, communication preferences, alt text and captions, extra time to review documents, flexibility with scheduling, communicating at agreed-upon times, and more. 

8. Survivors Choose What To Share. During interviews and other communication with survivors, storytellers should leave the decision of what to share or not share completely up to the survivor. Storytellers should not pressure survivors to go on-the-record or share information they aren’t comfortable with. Additionally, journalists should be transparent early on about limitations surrounding their ability to report or publish certain types of information. 

9. Communicate During The Editing Process. When working directly with survivors, journalists and content creators should give survivors a choice to receive information regarding when their stories will be published, how their stories will be framed and contextualized, the length and format of their published stories, and what, if any, supporting media is included. This includes any photography, video/film, recordings, quotes, or other media.

10. Being Publicly Available Doesn’t Mean It Has To Be Shared. Storytellers should be selective about sharing information, photos, videos, etc., that is unnecessarily graphic and sensitive regarding survivor stories. Such information should be preceded by a content warning. Avoid sensationalism. Just because something is public or you have access to information does not mean it has to be shared on your platform. 

11. Be Transparent About Requests For Comment. When working with survivors, storytellers should communicate clearly, consistently, and directly about when, how, and in what capacity they will be reaching out to alleged perpetrators and institutions for comment. Storytellers should consider the risk of retaliation and take steps to inform and protect sources, such as only including information in requests for comment that is intended to be published. 

12. Provide Appropriate Resources. When working directly with survivors, storytellers should be prepared to offer resources and advocates for navigating the reporting process, including retraumatization and aftercare.

13. Don’t Use AI Without Consent. In general, we caution storytellers against using AI whenever possible. Storytellers should refrain from using artificial-intelligence tools in the storytelling process except in cases where story participants have given informed consent for the use of these tools. Information about survivors should not be shared with Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT.

14. Be Open To Negative Feedback. When survivors tell storytellers they have been harmed by them, storytellers should never retaliate—which could include censoring a survivor’s experience—or by dismissing or devaluing this critical feedback. Instead, storytellers should be receptive, listen, provide support, and strive to learn and improve, regardless if they are able to report on the story.

15. Survivors Can Be Storytellers. Institutions should not discriminate against storytellers who are survivors. While no one has to share whether they are a survivor, storytellers who do should not be considered biased or barred from survivor storytelling.

16. Framing Informs Who We Trust. Storytellers should consider how their framing of the narrative impacts the audience’s perception of who to trust and whose perspective to give more weight. If leading with the perpetrator’s narrative, the survivor’s response should be included as high up or soon after as possible.

17. Strive For Independent Accountability. As of today, there is no industry-wide third-party system for survivors or anyone who is harmed by storytelling in the media industry. We believe that a system of non-punitive accountability is a necessary goal to combat systemic harm within the media industry. We acknowledge that we do not have all the answers and that this will not be built overnight. We are committed to constructing pathways for storytellers and their institutions to respond, learn, and do better in the future.

By signing this list of proposals, you are agreeing to sign this public open letter and pledge to use these peer-reviewed principles to help develop practices of care within your work. If you ever wish to remove yourself from this letter, please email survivorstoriesdeservebetter@gmail.com.

We will be updating the open letter with signatures regularly.

Here is a link to an extended version of the open letter with examples of each proposal for folks who are looking for a more comprehensive deep dive. 

With the help of peer review, this has been authored by Lauren Weingarten, M. Colleen McDaniel, and Kat Tenbarge.

Signed by, 

Celene Beth Olsen Lenora Claire Dawn Stern Dustin Daniels Keydra Houston Ophelia Louise (Ophie Dokie) La Activista Productions Lenora Claire Consulting LLC Mental Health Media Services MTMV Community Support Network Rise Above Justice Movement Rebecca (LeaveHeardAlone) Samantha Joy Sarah Ann Masse  Spitfire News Stronger U Zachary Mallory Jess Ader-Ferretti Sonia Jessie Buttafuoco Cheyenne Wilson  We Are The Evidence Hazel Hemlock  Emily Burdette   Calliope Castle  Ella Dawson  Tania Fuhrman  Quincy Durkin  Bianca Pereira  Justine Léaux  Hire Survivors Paeton Smith-Hiebert Marlee Liss  Natasha Stoynoff   Julia Kulovitz   Amy Dorris   Iris (Yi Youn) Kim  Jenette Allen   Christine Seaman   Kayla Swain  Jennifer Bateman  Daniela Lillhannus  Pooja Nair  Elijah Allington  Jessica Gottsleben  Andrew Wright  Danielle Carpio  Carrissa Walsh  Emory Murphy  Danno Flippo  Eva Crowder  Elena Ferrari  Karena Virginia  Jerusha Hancock  Gina Allen Reese  Sarah DeArmond  Alva Johnson  Kylie Cheung  Emma Thomas  Lauren Kay Roberts  Amandine Doutre  Caylin Botsford  Haverford College Survivor Collective  Secure Survivors  Healing and C-PTSD community  Survivors 4 Justice Reform Katerina Nicole Stephan  Dr. Erin O'Callaghan  Omny Miranda Martone  Katie M Shipp  Cassandra  Annie Sui  Katelyn Evans  Bri Ledsome  Danna Dominguez  Noah McDowell  Leah Fattor  Kebra Robison  Anna Clark  Holly  Sexual Violence Prevention Association (SVPA)  I Have The Right To  Humans vs. Hollywood  What I Wish People Knew  Exist Loudly Advocacy Kadiya Tilak Gwynne Stevenson Jasmine Mithani Alexandra Janell Smith Julia Lowenthal Shareen El Naga Jenn Fowler Shreya Jamthe Ayanna D. Maddox, Ph.D. Amanda Petrillo-Henrich Elise Shrock Amy Carter Nicole Bedera Ashley-Lauren Elrod sunny colibrí Bethany Taylor Demitric Baez Joanna Hynes The SSUP Community (Stand Up Speak Up) Ever On Strategies and Consulting, LLC Mosaic Unveiled National Black Women's Justice Institute (NBWJI) Beyond Compliance Visionary Woman Productions & The Reclaim Healing Institute Queer Access / Nuestro Nido SD Justice For Title IX Survivors De-Cruit Mikki Morrissette  Anna Sherratt  Allison Forte   Bree Trisler   Meggie Royer  Aja Romano  Madeline Hull  Korie A. Elliott  Caryn Burton  Jessica Merrill  Ona Moon  Jaelynn Hoggard  Minnesota Women's Press  Black Families Love & Unite  Violence Free Minnesota  California Partnership to End Domestic Violence Renita Fisher Emma Davidson Tribbs National Women's Defense League It's On Us Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence Radhika 'Rads' Gupta Students Against Rape Culture (SARC) | WGSSA UTSC
Heather Butler