Ethical storytelling and consent are crucial when representing marginalized voices. It's about respecting people's rights, protecting their privacy, and making sure they have a say in how their stories are told. This stuff matters because it helps build trust and prevents harm.

Getting informed consent, keeping things confidential, and following through on agreements are key. So is using trauma-informed practices, editing ethically, and recognizing that people own their own stories. These approaches help ensure marginalized voices are heard accurately and respectfully.

Informed Consent and Participant Rights

Obtaining Informed Consent and Protecting Confidentiality

• Informed consent involves providing participants with clear information about the project, its purpose, potential risks and benefits, and how their stories will be used, allowing them to make an informed decision about their participation
• Confidentiality protects participants' identities and personal information, ensuring that their stories are shared in a way that respects their privacy and prevents potential harm or repercussions
• Informed consent and confidentiality are essential ethical considerations in storytelling projects, particularly when working with vulnerable or marginalized communities (survivors of violence, undocumented immigrants)

Upholding Participant Rights and Representation Agreements

• Participant rights include the right to withdraw from the project at any time, the right to review and approve their stories before publication, and the right to have their stories represented accurately and respectfully
• Representation agreements are written contracts between storytellers and participants that outline the terms of their collaboration, including how stories will be used, credited, and compensated
• Upholding participant rights and representation agreements demonstrates respect for participants' autonomy and agency, and helps to build trust and accountability in the storytelling process (community-based participatory research projects)

Ethical Storytelling Practices

Trauma-Informed Practices and Ethical Documentation

• Trauma-informed practices prioritize the safety, trust, and well-being of participants who have experienced trauma, and seek to avoid re-traumatization in the storytelling process
• Ethical documentation involves accurately and sensitively capturing participants' stories, using methods that are culturally appropriate and minimize potential harm (oral history interviews, participatory photography)
• Trauma-informed practices and ethical documentation are critical in storytelling projects that address sensitive or traumatic topics, such as violence, displacement, or discrimination (refugee narratives, stories of sexual assault survivors)

Ethical Editing and Collaborative Storytelling

• Ethical editing ensures that participants' stories are represented accurately and respectfully, without sensationalizing or exploiting their experiences for dramatic effect
• Collaborative storytelling involves working closely with participants throughout the storytelling process, from conceptualization to final publication, to ensure that their voices and perspectives are centered and authentically represented
• Ethical editing and collaborative storytelling help to mitigate power imbalances between storytellers and participants, and ensure that the final product reflects the participants' lived experiences and intentions (community-based theater projects, participatory documentaries)

Narrative Ownership and Sovereignty

Recognizing Narrative Ownership and Promoting Story Sovereignty

• Narrative ownership acknowledges that participants are the rightful owners of their own stories, and have the right to control how their stories are used, shared, and represented
• Story sovereignty recognizes the inherent right of marginalized communities to tell their own stories on their own terms, without interference or appropriation by outside storytellers or institutions
• Recognizing narrative ownership and promoting story sovereignty are essential for decolonizing storytelling practices and challenging dominant narratives that have historically silenced or misrepresented marginalized voices (Indigenous storytelling traditions, community-based media projects)