How ethical storytelling has changed the way we tell stories
Humanity thrives on storytelling.
As children, we grew up listening to stories that captivated our young imaginations. Captured in colorful illustrations, they took us to worlds where ordinary kids saved the day, where fun and adventure never ended, and where we could be anything we wanted when we grew up.
As students and adults, we read and listen to stories to learn about the world around us and our place in it. They teach us lessons and morals. They tell us about the people, places, and ideas that make us who we are. They give us role models and heroes to aspire to. We tell stories to teach, to reflect, to entertain, and to commemorate.
Stories are also a critical component of advocacy.
Organizations like Dressember use stories to inspire, to educate, and to share their impact. Many of us have joined the fight to end slavery and trafficking because of stories. Perhaps you heard a story from a survivor that moved you deeply, or perhaps it is a part of your very own story. The emotional response it generated, the truths it revealed, and the urge to become a part of this story then spurred you to act. Because stories are powerful tools of influence, they must be told ethically.
So, what is Ethical Storytelling anyway?
What does an ethical story look like? How can we ensure that the stories we share will both reflect the dignity of survivors and effectively benefit anti-slavery efforts?
Part of our work at Dressember involves teaming up with and learning from other amazing organizations whose goals interlock with ours. The Ethical Storytelling movement has been monumental in shaping the standards for storytelling within the nonprofit community. The Ethical Storytelling movement recognizes that it not only matters that these stories are shared and that advocates and donors understand the impact they are making. It matters how these stories are shared.
Madeline Kronenberg, our outstanding Communications Manager, described Dressember’s approach to storytelling this way: “When we reduce a person’s story into a simple ‘they were in this super traumatic experience and now they’re free and everything’s great’ — it doesn’t tell the whole story. So, when we tell the story of an individual, we want to acknowledge their strength, their courage, their resilience, and also identify the challenges that they still experience, because we know that healing exists on a spectrum...We strive to remember that every story shared with us is the story of an individual who is worthy of dignity, and who is not defined by their story alone.”
Because of the impact of the Ethical Storytelling movement and our commitment to bringing awareness to the problem of slavery in a dignified way, Dressember has introduced new measures for storytelling with our grant partners. These measures, established with guidance from Rachel Goble, CEO of The Freedom Story and one of the creators of the Ethical Storytelling community, will allow all of us to be better, more effective, and more ethical storytellers.
“When we reduce a person’s story into a simple ‘they were in this super traumatic experience and now they’re free and everything’s great’ — it doesn’t tell the whole story. ”
You can expect a few things from us and from the stories we share:
We do not share the real names of grant partner clients. We indicate the use of a pseudonym.
We do not use stories to evoke emotions of pity, but to educate and share the incredible bravery and resilience that the constituent possesses.
We do our best to share stories in a way that does not reduce the individual to their challenges.
We do our best to celebrate the survivor and honor their journey.
We pair stories with positive photos that do not include direct faces unless direct consent is given.
Every single story we share has the potential to convey hope, struggle, and everything in between. Sharing these stories ethically will allow our partners, readers, advocates, and survivors to understand the impact they are making by joining us in the fight to end slavery.
“We won’t stop sharing stories,” Madeline affirmed. “But we will be changing how we share stories. We’re grateful that we get to learn and grow from survivors who are willing to share with us. We don’t take that for granted.”
We hope that the stories we share fill you with the same sense of ambition and fire that you felt when hearing stories about your childhood heroes. We hope you feel encouraged to speak, empowered to act, and emboldened to share your part in the story. And most importantly, we hope you recognize that the stories we share are positive, accurate reflections of the many extraordinary individuals who make up this movement.
About the Author
Holland Freeman is a Pacific Northwest native and pine tree enthusiast studying Religion and Conflict Management at Pepperdine University. She is keen on exploring this lovely earth by lacing up her running shoes, backpacking through the forest, and journaling on a European train heading who-knows-where. She plans to continue in her passion for advocacy and human rights through graduate studies in the field of Theology and Peace Studies.