For years, survivors of human trafficking have been engaged by organizations and government officials as storytellers in order to shape policy, raise funds, and create “awareness.” Historically, many survivor leaders have reported experiencing tokenization, disappointment, and even significant harmful impacts from sharing their stories publicly, particularly when they are invited to do so without adequate preparation, support, and safeguards. Much of the research on storytelling by survivors of trauma highlights the potential benefits of survivors sharing their stories, but elides differences in context. For example, research on the impacts of storytelling in a therapeutic, supportive environment like a support group or creative workshop does not clarify the impacts of storytelling on a public stage or in local or national media. In 2024, the presenters surveyed 85 survivors in the United States and Kenya about their experiences with storytelling and the third parties who facilitated those storytelling engagements in order to better understand the survivor storytellers’ motivations, desires, needs, and challenges. They found that many survivors were pressured to share their stories (or to share details they didn’t want to share) by third parties, did not receive adequate information about potential impacts of storytelling in order to offer truly informed consent, and were left alone to deal with the emotional, financial, and structural impacts after storytelling engagements. This presentation outlines the findings and provides recommendations for third party facilitators to approach their role with greater intentionality and integrity, as well as guidance for researchers on ethical use of publicly-available survivor stories.
Chris Ash is an organizer with thirty years of experience and the co-founder of Collective Threads Initiative. They have spent recent years researching survivors’ experiences of “survivor leadership” in anti-trafficking spaces, and you can see more of their work at https://christianash.com/portfolio/.
Ethan Czuy Levine is the Research and Evaluation Manager at Cast and Affiliated Faculty in Sociology at Stockton University. He received his PhD in Sociology from Temple University. He has more than 15 years’ experience advocating for sexual violence, domestic violence, and human trafficking survivors of all genders and sexualities.