Awareness at a Cost: The Risk of Unintentional Exploitation in Sharing Youth Voice
In the youth services provider community there has been a movement to recognize that youth involvement in meaningful roles is not just a good idea, but can actually lead to positive outcomes. “Nothing about me without me” (Valerie Billingham) is one of my favorite quotes to capture the idea that a young person must be fully involved in conversations about the services and goals intended to benefit them. Not simply involved, but leading the decision making. The value of bringing youth voice to efforts that raise awareness is a natural extension of this paradigm shift. Who better to narrate a story than the one who lives it? But there is a risk in bringing youth voice forward to tell their story in an effort to deepen understanding.
When we ask someone that has experienced incredible challenges and endured a life experience fraught with hardships that most people would find difficult to conceive to share their stories, we are asking them to share a part of themselves. In doing so, we need to be attentive to what we are asking them to share and to what purpose. What is the intention of the conversation? In order to understand the value of a program in helping a youth realize their potential, what information do we need to share in order for that to happen? Do we need the shocking details of their abuse? No, we need only to understand that it occurred and only if the person is comfortable with sharing it.
It is all too easy for well-intentioned, caring people to offer youth an opportunity to speak to their experience as part of a community event or conference plenary. When we do this, we must be clear about the focus of the conversation and that focus should be clearly conveyed to the speaker. For youth, the story should be about where they are going, not the dire circumstances that brought them to the point of needing help. Help us to understand the support received and how it was helpful. That is the story to be told.
It is all too easy to slip into questions that probe into deeply personal memories. A youth that has received support and values the opportunity to speak will be apt to respond despite not feeling comfortable in doing so. As we prepare youth to share their voice, it is important that we also teach them that they are able to share their stories in any way they like. Just because a person or a program has helped them, does not obligate them to share personal information with others at their request. We should discuss the possible consequences of sharing parts of their story and assist them in developing responses to questions they do not wish to answer. We should prepare them and ourselves.
National Mentoring Month and Human Trafficking Awareness month is recognized in January and we now turn our attention to February and Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. Sharing the Message of Human Trafficking: A Public Awareness and Media Guide, from the Center Combating Human Trafficking at Wichita State University was developed specifically to guide this commitment to do no harm in raising awareness for youth that have experienced commercial sexual exploitation. Its content applies beyond this one experience of vulnerability. It is a valuable resource to ensure that our awareness efforts do not come at a painful and unnecessary cost. As we as service providers immerse ourselves in the activities of these awareness opportunities, let us be mindful of the risk of unintentional exploitation. Let us be intentional and respectful. And let us hold one another accountable to this commitment.
Susan Spagnuolo is the Senior TA Manager at Youth Collaboratory. Joining MANY in 1990, Susan led the initial development of Youth Collaboratory’s training and technical assistance program, nationally recognized as model of excellence.
