How NGOs can tell stories without exploiting vulnerable communities

The people in development stories often have less power than the organisations telling them. How they are shown affects their safety, their dignity and how audiences see a whole community or country.

It is also a recognised standard. The Core Humanitarian Standard requires that communications about people, including for advocacy and fundraising, are made with their informed consent and are accurate and respectful.¹

Every identifiable person should understand who is filming, why, and where the images will appear. Dóchas advises getting written permission, or at least verbal consent, explaining the purpose in a language the person understands, and not creating an expectation that taking part will bring aid or other benefits.²

In our own practice, we ask for written consent and make clear that saying no changes nothing for the person.

We never pay people in exchange for consent, because payment can make it difficult to refuse. The International Federation of Journalists also advises against paying children or their parents for material about children’s welfare, unless it is clearly in the child’s interest.³

Show people doing, deciding and leading, not only receiving. A farmer explaining a new method, a nurse running a clinic or a student asking a question tells a stronger and more respectful story than an image designed to provoke pity.

Children need extra protection. Use written guardian consent, first names and ages only, and avoid details that could identify where a child lives or studies in sensitive contexts. UNICEF’s principles for ethical reporting on children are a useful reference.⁴⁵

Do not stage scenes, recreate events without saying so, or edit photographs in ways that change what happened. Check every caption and every figure. If AI tools are used anywhere in the workflow, they must never be used to create or change images presented as real.

Where possible, show the finished story to the people in it and to the community. It builds trust, catches mistakes and respects their contribution.²

• Written, informed consent from every identifiable person
• Consent forms in local languages
• Extra protection for children and vulnerable people
• No payment for consent
• No staged scenes or altered images
• Captions and figures checked
• Personal data stored securely under the law