Empowering Anonymity
Empowering Anonymity: A Visual Method of Representing Gender-Based Violence
Introduction
“Empowering Anonymity” is a set of guidelines and suggestions on how to use visual documentation to empower survivors of gender-based violence (GBV), prioritizing their well-being and their privacy.
This method is a reference guide and it is specifically designed for use by photojournalists, visual journalists, and editors when covering a story and working with a survivor of GBV in Italy. These guidelines exist to support those who desire to share their story visually and engage in a work of empowerment. In general, “Empowering Anonymity” is created for all those who want to change the stereotyped representation of GBV.
By referring to this method, photojournalists are encouraged to narrate stories involving GBV in a way that is respectful and sensitive, avoiding stereotypes that fuel violence, minimizing trauma exploitation, and desensitization to violence. To achieve this, the method emphasizes a strong collaboration with survivors and anti-violence organizations. It proposes a visual method based on anonymity that aims to keep the identity of the person photographed confidential.
The goals of this method are threefold:
Minimize the traumatic consequences of picturing violence and focus instead on the journey towards empowerment.
Challenge gender stereotypes present in media coverage in Italy and promote a more accurate and respectful portrayal of survivors. This could lead to the creation of a new database of non-stereotypical images of GBV.
Empower survivors to reclaim their agency and narrate their stories from their perspectives. This empowerment can become exemplary and help prevent isolation for those who have not denounced violence or left the anti-violence centers yet.
We acknowledge that each reporter holds their moral subjectivity and values when deciding how to cover a story of violence. Nevertheless, we hope that by adopting this method, media professionals will contribute to a more ethical and respectful representation of GBV, ultimately supporting survivors in their healing process while promoting awareness and understanding.
Guidelines
Suggestions on how to do research
Privacy in Anti-Violence Centers: Accessing anti-violence shelters, organizations, and social cooperatives can be challenging due to strict privacy and protection protocols. Respecting the privacy and anonymity of survivors of violence is one of the priorities of these organizations. Requesting consent from someone currently receiving protection could undermine the fundamental trust relationship that is crucial to the support methodology and overall recovery process provided by anti-violence centers. Therefore, gaining access to someone currently inside an anti-violence center is not possible due to privacy reasons. Violenza sulle donne. In che stato siamo? Raccolta dati e anonimato
Anonymity of Participants: According to Italian data protection laws and the Penal Code, the media must not disseminate information that could make a victim of sexual violence identifiable, even indirectly. Even if GBV can be manifested in various forms of abuse, not limited to sexual violence, it is advised to handle all cases with the same level of confidentiality. Therefore, when proposing a project about GBV, one could focus on a visual collaboration with individuals who have already completed their path in an anti-violence center or with a therapist and who want to share their stories by keeping their information anonymous. The reporter shall change details such as name, age, and location, to ensure the person is not easily recognizable.
Understand GBV: It is necessary to gain a thorough understanding of GBV, including its various forms, signs, and legal context in Italy. One could take online training from organizations such as Telefono Rosa, on-demand with InvisibleFarm, or attend training offered by anti-violence associations, some of which offer specific sensibilization for journalists. The journalist who wants to propose a project related to GBV shall get acquainted with the laws, data/statistics, declarations, and initiatives present in Italy to be able to understand the context better (see ‘Resources’)
Key aspects of GBV:
GBV is a subtle social phenomenon that is undermined by its decontextualization, secondary victimization, normalization, and sensationalization.
GBV is shaped by gender differences which are influenced by sexual and cultural stereotypes.
GBV can affect anyone based on their gender, gender expression, gender identity, or perceived gender.
GBV includes sexual violence, physical violence, verbal violence, psychological violence, socio-economic violence, digital violence, and witnessing violence. Femicides are only the peak of violence.
GBV is manifested in a repetitive cycle of abuse of four phases: tension building, explosion of violence, love bombing, and reconciliation.
GBV can cause long-lasting psychological and psychosomatic problems.
Trauma-Informed Journalism Guidelines: There are extensive resources and guidelines that support ethical coverage of GBV, which should be considered before starting a visual project on the subject matter. The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma (Dart Center) and The Journalism Initiative on Gender-Based Violence (JiG) of the Center for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL) provide thorough guidelines on governing GBV and trauma.
The CWGL proposes these general guidelines:
Prioritize the needs and interests of survivors
Protect the identity and dignity of survivors
Focus on the purpose of the story
Learn from survivors’ perceptions of journalistic practices
Avoid retraumatizing or disempowering practices
Address survivors’ quest for justice and redress
Avoid raising or reinforcing false expectations
Write/produce and edit positive news stories about changing attitudes and efforts to advocate against acts or patterns of violence
Write/produce and edit follow-up stories that address the long-term impact of gender-based violence on survivors 9
Suggestions on who to contact
Anti-Violence Centers: A reporter should engage with centers and social cooperatives that specialize in supporting GBV survivors. In Italy, you can use the following mapping to check the list of anti-violence centers in each region: Mappatura. These centers do not disclose information about individuals who have contacted or received assistance from them and do not maintain contact with individuals who have exited their programs, whether they interrupted their recovery or completed it. Contacting these centers is however fundamental for understanding the multifaceted challenges of GBV, both in its content and representation. These centers can provide valuable insights into the difficulties of breaking stereotypes and addressing the justified fear that survivors have of speaking up. They offer help, raise awareness, and provide training. Moreover, they might be able to collaborate with reporters to ensure accurate and sensitive coverage of GBV issues
Advocacy Groups: Collaborate with advocacy groups and educational organizations dedicated to GBV awareness. Such organizations offer expertise in raising awareness, providing support services, advocating for policy changes, promoting education and training, and empowering victims.
Suggestions on how to collaborate
Proposing a Project: when proposing a project, it is advised to follow these steps.
Conduct thorough research on GBV to understand its complexities and the potential challenges involved in visual documentation; familiarize yourself with the relevant laws and regulations in the geographical area where you plan to conduct your research; review past projects on similar topics to learn from their successes and challenges (see ‘Resources’).
Consider being supported by a therapist or photo therapist throughout the project. This professional support can help manage the emotional and psychological aspects of working with survivors and handling sensitive material.
Reach out to anti-violence organizations and advocacy groups for feedback and potential approval of your project idea.
Arrange initial meetings with these organizations to discuss potential collaboration.
Initially, do not seek direct contact with the survivors but propose your project through anti-violence organizations.
Obtain informed consent from participants before starting any interviews or discussing personal experiences.
Familiarize yourself with the JiG, the Dart Center and WITNESS interview guides with Survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and the Dart Center guidelines for reporting on sexual violence in conflict (CRSV), especially Article 8.
Focus on their path toward recovery rather than asking for details of their experiences of violence and trauma.
Ensure that all participant information remains confidential throughout the process.
Participant Selection: Find individuals who have completed their recovery journey, rather than those who are still participating in a program within an anti-violence center, to avoid disrupting their healing process. Note that anti-violence centers typically do not maintain contact with individuals after they have completed their program, making it challenging to find someone willing to share their experience. Alternatively, consider collaborating with supporting organizations and have them reach out to survivors who may be willing to participate in your project.
Informed Consent: Obtain consent without personal information, allowing participants to withdraw at any time. Before any interview or inquiry involving the participant's experience, make sure to have obtained meaningful and informed consent regarding the project details, risks, and benefits.
Photographic Process: Develop the story together, focusing on the participant's preferred narrative. Utilize techniques that strive for anonymity and respect participants' wishes. Ensure the person you photograph is a co-author of the final images, not merely a subject.
Respect the Subject’s Self-Perception and Emotional Boundaries: Recognize that each person has a unique relationship with their self-image, and one cannot predict how they will react to being photographed, especially when the project involves reflecting on a traumatic experience. To ensure the process is sensitive and supportive, consider collaborating with a therapist or photo therapist. They can help assess the participant's comfort level and provide guidance if any discomfort arises during the project
Final Presentation: Ensure the final photographs accurately reflect the participant's story and the collaboration, by including them in evaluating the final results.
Suggestions on how to take photographs of survivors of GBV
Anonymity: Prioritize protecting the identity of participants to prevent stereotypes, trauma exploitation, and the perpetuation of stigmatized images of them on social media. You can see who you are photographing, so make sure their information remains confidential and use photographic techniques that do not clearly reveal their identity. I created a prototype photo essay, “Fragments of Self“, in collaboration with a model to experiment with techniques of picturing anonymity. You can see it here:
Trauma-Informed Photography: Always try to ensure that the person feels safe and comfortable, ideally with the assistance of a therapist. Check with them regularly and never assume that just because they seem comfortable, they truly are. Even when you are being respectful and ethical, discussing their empowerment related to a traumatic experience can still be retraumatizing and distressing. If they feel uncomfortable, interrupt the photo session immediately and offer assistance. Keep in mind that this is a collaborative project; we are telling their story, not ours.
Creative Techniques: Explore various methods to achieve anonymity. Some inspirational ideas and techniques are as follows:
Indirect representation (see exemplary work of Segni):
Self-portraits: Simona Ghizzoni reinterpreted survivors’ testimonies emphasizing recurring fears, emotions, and patterns by taking self-portraits. To achieve better anonymity, the survivors’ names, ages, and locations were changed.
Objects and Places: Ilaria Magliocchetti Lombi photographed the story of survivors by capturing meaningful and evocative places, objects, and possessions. Objects and places thus become parts of an extended self.
Image credits to: Simona Ghizzoni in Segni.
Image credits to: Simona Ghizzoni in Segni.
Image credits to Ilaria Magliochetti Lombi in Segni.
Street Photography Techniques: one could take inspiration from techniques used by street photographers to hide the identity of bypassers for their privacy.
Backlighting: by manually focusing on a transparent glass pane during a rainy day, the interplay of external and internal light sources generates a silhouette effect. Utilizing black and white enhances the contrast, producing two hazy, ethereal figures.
Image credits to Zahyr Caan.
Window Photography: In window photography, the subject can be seen through a window or transparent panel and the focus can be on either the subject or the surface, depending on the intention; for anonymity, it is suggested to prioritize focusing on the panel to obscure the subject. It is thus advised to use manual focus. Depending on the surface, one might need a polarizing filter to reduce reflections or glares. A narrow aperture can be used to fixate the gaze on the details of the window, and a wide aperture to focus on the subject beyond the panel.
Image credits (left) to Tommi Viitala; Image credits (middle) to Billy Dinh; Image credits (right) to Nina Berman’s Purple Hearts.
Silhouettes: Silhouettes are achieved by placing the subject in front of a bright light source (e.g., sunset, window, or light installation), set a narrow aperture (e.g., f/8 or higher) and a low ISO (e.g., ISO 100) to reduce light intake. The focus can be adjusted on either the subject or the background depending on the intention. The shutter speed should be adjusted depending on the background light.
Image credits (left) to Marta Mostardini [Canon EOS 1100D with 24mm lens, ISO 100, shutter speed 1/160 and aperture f/6.3. Image credits (right) to Tommi Viitala.
Reflections: To capture reflections, one should position themselves strategically near reflective surfaces such as windows, metal structures, mirrors, or bodies of water. A wide aperture creates softly blurred reflections, while narrower apertures, provide more details to be visible. For anonymity, it is advised to focus on the reflection panel for intentional blurring of the subject.
Image credits (left) to Marta Mostardini [Sony a7iii and SOny 50mm Lens, Iso 250, shutter speed 1/160, and aperture f/3.2 ]; Image credits (left) to Inna Lisovskaya.
Shadows: Shadows can be utilized as an effective technique to photograph subjects without revealing their identity, often achieved with low-key lighting, narrow apertures (e.g., f/8 or higher), and placement of the subjects with the source of light. Shadows can also be used to convey a metaphorical meaning.
Image credits to Tommi Viitala.
Shooting through: The subject can be photographed through a light-textured veil such as a curtain or sheet to create the effect of a silhouette. A silhouette by shooting through can be achieved by having a strong light source behind the subject, by focusing on the veil or sheet, and by using a narrow aperture.
Image credits (left) to Billy Dinh; Image credits (right) to Inna Lisovskaya.
Blurry Images: To take blurry photographs that convey the impression of a subject without revealing their clear identity, use manual focus to deliberately keep the image out of focus, capturing the curves and the way light reflects on their body to suggest form and presence while maintaining anonymity.
Image credit (left) to Ralph Gibson; Image credit (right) to Inna Lisovskaya.
Selective focus: By using manual focus is possible to keep the environment sharp while the subject remains blurry. Selective focus can also be achieved by using a wide aperture to highlight a specific detail while leaving the rest of the scene out of focus.
Image credits to Billy Dinh.
Slow Shutter Speed: Using a low shutter speed (e.g., 1/30s or slower) can create motion blur, effectively conveying the idea of movement while obscuring distinctive features to maintain the subject's anonymity, an effect that is even more effective in black-and-white.
Image credits to Marta Mostardini [picture on the left: Sony a7iii and Sony 50mm Lens, Iso 100, shutter speed ⅛, and aperture f/5; picture on the right: Sony a7iii and Sony 50mm Len, Iso 50, shutter Speed ⅓, and aperture f/22].
Light Framing: Natural or artificial light can be used to frame the subject. To achieve this, it is suggested to study the location ahead to understand the light dynamics. One can also utilize reflectors or artificial lighting to enhance highlights and shadows.
Image credits to Billy Dinh.
Spotlight Photography: To achieve spotlight photography, whether utilizing an external flash or natural light, one can strategically manipulate the light source to illuminate a targeted area while obscuring others, a technique referred to as flash compensation (resembling a white silhouette). When using flash, adjust the flash exposure for intensity (higher for increased brightness and a pronounced over-exposed effect, lower for a more subtle appearance) and zoom settings (higher in mm for a narrower beam of light) to precisely direct and control the illumination, contingent upon the specific lighting conditions encountered. Post-production edits can also increase the highlighted area/subject.
Images credits to Starry Kong.
Close-ups: Close-ups are achieved by using a zoom lens or physically moving closer to the subject, focusing on fine details and textures, either sharp or intentionally blurred; One could also crop the image in post-production.
Image credits to Marta Mostardini [settings picture on the left: Sony a7iii and Sony 50 mm lens, Iso 125, shutter speed 1/400 and aperture f/3.5; picture in the middle: Sony a7iii and Sony 50 mm lens, Iso 50, shutter speed 1/1250, and aperture f/1.8; picture on the right: Canon EOS 1100D and Canon EFS 24 mm lens, Iso 200, shutter speed 1/100, and aperture f/3.2].
Contextualization: Accompany photographs with ethical and respectful text to provide context without revealing identities. If you need to include names, locations, and ages, consider using aliases instead.
Suggestions on how to use non-violent language:
Language Awareness: Recognize that language can perpetuate gender biases and be the first form of violence. Avoid terms that reinforce stereotypes or victimization.
Check out Resources: Utilize existing resources to ensure the language used is appropriate and respectful.
Laws and Guidelines: As an Italian journalist/photojournalist, respect the laws of the ‘Ordine dei Giornalisti (ODG)’, especially Article 5 bis on gender differences.
Manifesto Di Venezia: Adhere to the guidelines for respectful and gender-equal media coverage as outlined in the Manifesto Di Venezia by Italian journalists.
Correct Representation of Women: Refer to the manual Tutt'altro Genere di Informazione for contextual data, analysis of journalistic practices, and recommendations for inclusive and respectful reporting.
Cultural Sensitivity: Be aware of how gendered language influences cultural perceptions and strive to use inclusive and neutral terms. Use non-binary pronouns and neutral adjectives when referring to non-binary individuals. Refer to guides on speaking about the queer community to ensure respectful gendered language use (see Italian Guide, or request Counseling).
Suggestions on how to contextualize the story
Storytelling: Contextualize photographs with narratives that explain the empowering process of the participant rather than the specifics of the violence experienced. By offering an alternative approach to discussing violence—one that emphasizes healing, empowerment, and breaking the cycle of violence—we can reshape the conversation and bring value to narratives of overcoming violence rather than fixating on the details of atrocity.
Exhibition Context: Consider the setting in which the photographs will be displayed, ensuring the participant's comfort and consent. Reflect on the perception of the audience and the impact of the story being told.
Ethical Presentation: Always seek consent from participants regarding how and where their stories will be shared. Ensure that the final presentation respects their wishes and maintains their dignity.
Additional Resources
Reports
(Istanbul Convention) Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (CETS No. 210): Report (English) or Report (Italiano)
GREVIO Baseline Evaluation Report on Legislative and Other Measures for the Implementation of the Istanbul Convention in Italy: Report
BROKEN RAINBOW? Domestic Violence and the LGBTI Community in Italy: Report
Italian civil society organizations for CEDAW12: Report
Istat Statistics on the Investigation into the performance and delivery of services offered by Anti-violence Centers: Report
Guidelines for Ethical Reporting
Advocacy Associations in Italy
Anti-Violence Centers in Italy (list per region)