A major part of working in PR for not for profits is telling stories about how the organisation’s work is assisting its clients. The question we are faced with on an almost daily basis is how do you tell a story that protects an individual’s privacy?
We encounter this challenge in much of our work, whether it is developing a campaign about homelessness, ageing well, family violence or disability.
Our starting point is to determine why the story needs to be told. Generally it is to help the organisation raise funds to continue the service as well as to bring about social change.
If the answers to these are properly discussed – with the person whose story you are going to tell – then it is onto the second set of questions: who the story is about, who is telling the story and how will my identity be protected?
These are important ethical questions. For us, it is not just a case of reaching for the permission form and asking someone to sign it. Care, thought and integrity are very much involved.
The majority of people we interview are concerned about their privacy. Someone with a mental illness rightly fears they will face rejected if they talk publicly about their condition. Someone who is homeless rightly fears they will face discrimination.
Over the years, we have arrived at a number of solutions that seem to work.
Choose your ‘story’ telling way well.
Recently we interviewed a young man who had severe intellectual disabilities but was itching to tell the world about his landing his first job to encourage other young people in similar circumstances to keep on trying. He also wanted to make a point about potential government changes to the Disability Support Pension and Newstart and the effect on people such as him.
There were a number of privacy issues involved: he did not want to be photographed or filmed nor did his employer want her name mentioned.
His story was poignant and included a strong call to arms.
Our solution: through a series of photographs of his artwork and writing, we told his story in his own words narrated by his mother.
Use an event
We are working with women who are homeless as a result of family violence. Our rule is that if she is still is (or feels) unsafe, she should not be a part of any public relations exercise.
But there are women who want to tell their story to caution other women about family violence, its effect but also that there is always hope.
A number of women have accompanied the organisation’s CEO to board meetings, conversations with philanthropists and increasingly, at private fundraising events. Their viewpoint adds a reality check, a ‘real life’ perspective of the importance of services and how they are making a difference. However, there is always a privacy risk.
Our solution: put in place a carefully executed plan, prepare well in advance so that the women feel confortable with what they will and won’t discuss or make public, and ensure boundaries are put in place.
Change identity
Another option is to protect someone’s identity by changing the name, age, and other details or to create a composite character out of several clients. This is our least favoured approach and, if you decide to do this, you should state that is what you have done. While you may be protecting privacy, you still have to consider the ethics of story telling.
Next: who controls the story and how it is used?