How do you feel seeing these images below? What kind of emotions do they evoke in you and what perspectives and stories can you form just by looking at them?
One of the most important aspects of communicating humanitarianism and aid work is visual storytelling. Pictures tell stories and stories can enhance or distort narratives. The production and distribution of photos and videos is an indispensable tool which, when effectively harnessed, has the potential of improving access to global developmental issues and creating awareness about current trends within the aid industry. A crucial principle in te acquisition of visual content from individuals and communities is ethical consent. This is the practise of obtaining informed, clear, and voluntary permission from an individual or a group of people before capturing and publishing their images and videos. There is growing concern surrounding ethical consent, the nuances and power dynamics that affects its acquisition and usage, and the role of professionals who communicate humanitarianism and aid work in enhancing the cause for genuine ethical consent.
On 3rd September 2024, Fair Picture, an organization with the mission of promoting “ethical images and videos that do justice for everyone”, held an online broadcast panel discussion on the importance of consent and the ethical production of visual media in aid work. The event, titled, “FairTalk #12 Informed Consent: Balancing Efficiency and Ethics” engaged key stakeholders in conversations surrounding informed consent and the key considerations aid workers need to adhere to to enhance the dignity and respect for the individuals and stories behind their lenses. Panelists for this event were: Kari Brayman, the Senior Content Manager at Vitamin Angels, Shazia Islamshah, Senior Advisor at Swiss Center of Competence for International Cooperation, Selvaprakash Lakshmanan, Visual Creator at Fairpicture, India, and Josemarie Nyagah, a Visual Creator at Fairpicture, Kenya. The discussions were moderated by the Co-founder at Fairpicture, Aurel Vogel.
The event began with discussions on the importance of genuine ethical consent and the tools ComDev visual content producers can use in their line of work. Genuine ethical consent is a springboard to authentic storytelling and, to a larger extent, speaks volumes to the credibility professionals engaged in humanitarian and aid work.
Kari Brayman spoke about how crucial a pre-production session is in ensuring genuine ethical communication for development. According to her, a team of professionals who will be working on a project must hold pre-planning sessions which will be safe spaces for the team to have moments of introspection about their own biases in relation to development and how these biases could potentially affect the images they take and how they take them. These sessions will also present an opportunity for accountability and open discussions on a more ethical and authentic approach to content production. While on the field, priority should be placed on creating connections with the people before bringing up conversations about consent. This, in her view, helps those whose stories will be captured to feel valued and dignified. Josemaria also highlighted that one of the ways to enhance this connection is to keep your cameras out of sight until some kind of communication has been formed between the photographer and the people they capture.
Speaking about the digital tools that provides ease and convenience in the collection of consent, the FairConsent App came in highly recommended by the panelists. Selvaprakash shared his experience with the app and explained that “thumbs up” feature is a great innovation in genuine ethical consent in visual communication. The application erases possible intimidation that some people might feel in being asked to read and leave a signature on a consent document and replaces with a picture of the person in the picture holding their thumb up to show they have given an informed consent to their images being taken and used.
Kari also shared a tool she called “the photo example book”, which is a compilation of different images that shows practical ways the pictures will be used.
The book contains images from social media sites, websites, billboards and other advertising channels which can be used to communicate clearly on the various destinations of the content taken. She also encouraged transparency in informing participants about other partner organizations who will be granted access to the images taken. These are indispensable tools which transcend language and cultural barriers. They ensure that people in communities with limited internet access are still privy to and have a deeper understand of important information about the various ways their images could show up in the world.
Additionally, an important aspect for discussion on ethical communication for development around consent is the power relations and inequality between the non-profit organization and the people benefiting from their projects, and how this affects genuine ethical consent. There is a sense of obligation that has been observed in beneficiaries of interventions to freely avail themselves for their images to be taken. These sentiments could be due to a feeling of indebtedness and a sense that the interventions and benefits they would gain could otherwise be taken away if they object or withdraw from giving consent. It is therefore imperative for beneficiaries to be informed that the execution of the planned interventions and projects will not be dependent on their approval or denial of consent. They must also be informed that they could withdraw their consent at any point in content production and dissemination. It was also suggested to ensure that only 1 or maximum of 2 people are speaking to a participant at a time instead of having the entire team standing around a participant while asking for their consent. The latter situation pressures participants and could create feelings of uneasiness and intimidation, leading to the acquisition of unethical consent.
In conclusion, regardless of an individual’s living conditions or the nature of interventions they will potentially benefit from, there has to be great respect for their dignity, rights, and safety. ComDev professionals and stakeholders have the responsibility to balance the need to tell compelling and captivating stories while maintaining ethical principles and ensuring that the content captured accurately reflects the individuals and communities.
Written by: Anita Esi Otoo
Really great post. The discussions around ethics and the sense of obligation really stuck out to me, it’s something I think is often missed when communicating about on the ground work with development projects!