Protecting Your Rights and Your Story

This guide is for survivors of conflict: a practical tool to help you protect your rights and your story when engaging with photographers.

This guide has been carefully crafted as part of a research project led by Ulster University, in close collaboration with the Free Yezidi Foundation. It brings together insights from industry professionals across multiple sectors, alongside the invaluable perspectives and lived experiences of survivors. Shaped through this inclusive and research-informed process, the guidance is practical and deeply attuned to the needs and concerns of those most affected by conflict.

What follows offers clear, step-by-step advice on how to stay safe before, during, and after a photoshoot. It is designed to equip you with the tools to make informed choices, protect your rights, and ensure that your story is shared in the way you want it told.

This guide is written for you, as a survivor of conflict. It exists to provide dedicated strategies for safe and informed media engagement, separate from resources aimed at reporters and photographers. While you can use these tools to safeguard your rights and shape your narrative, it is important to remember that the ethical responsibility for fair and respectful representation always rests with those behind the camera. Their duty to act responsibly remains unchanged, but this guide ensures that you have your own protections, knowledge, and agency when engaging with them.

PRINCIPLES

It's Your Choice

You control your story and image. You should never be forced to share anything you don't want.
Feel free to say "No." You don't have to explain.
Ask for details: Who, why, where, how will my image be used?
Take time to decide. Don't be rushed.
Formal consent: Written, in your language.
Stop anytime: Even after starting.
Beware manipulation: Gifts/promises aren't consent.
Group pressure isn't consent: Your choice is personal.
Control privacy: You decide what's shown (face, name, details).

Your Safety Matters

Physical Safety First: Never pose in unsafe locations.
Refuse Risk: Say no if photos expose identity/location to danger.
Emotional Well-being: Pause or stop if overwhelmed.
Limit Disclosure: You don't have to reveal trauma.
Check In: Pay attention to how you feel; report discomfort.
Bring Support: Have a trusted person with you.

Honesty is Key

Clear Information: Demand where, who sees, and why your photo is used.
Get it in Writing: Request a written consent form; keep a copy.
Check Consistency: What's promised should match reality.
No Use Without Consent: Photo only used if you clearly agree to specific terms.
Change Your Mind: You can withdraw consent if truth was hidden or misunderstood.
Get a Contact: Know who to ask if concerns arise later.

Your Story, Your Words, Your Image

Control Your Image: Don't let photos misrepresent or stage you.
Decide What to Share: Set boundaries for personal details.
Words Unaltered: Ensure your exact words are used; no twisting.
Review Photos: Approve images before publication for accuracy.
Refuse Misrepresentation: Reject stories told in an untrue way.
Appropriate Usage: Ensure image use aligns with your values.

Think About the Future

Long-Term Use: Ask how/where your image will be used over time.
Community Impact: Consider potential effects on your community.
Framing: Ensure your story is framed accurately.
Public Exposure Risks: Understand privacy and safety risks of public sharing.
Comfort with Decision: Take time to ensure you're comfortable with long-term effects.
Seek Support: Ask trusted individuals for advice on future implications.
Positive Change: Ensure your story contributes positively if that's your goal.

You Deserve Respect

Expect Kindness: No rushing, no pressure. Avoid those who demean or ignore your requests.
No Performance: Don't re-enact trauma.
Dignified Portrayal: Photos should honor, not humiliate.
Stop Anytime: End the session if disrespected.
Be Heard: Report mistreatment to a trusted person.

You Are in Control

You Decide: It's your choice to be photographed, or not.
Choose What to Share: Control your story; keep private what you wish.
Guide Your Image: Have a say in your pose, expression, and appearance.
Set Usage Boundaries: Control where, how, and if your photo is shared.
Review & Give Feedback: Ask to see photos and request changes/deletions.
Dignified Portrayal: Ensure you are shown with strength, dignity, and pride.

Cultural Respect

Demand Cultural Sensitivities: Reject requests conflicting with customs.
Set Boundaries: Define limits based on cultural practices.
Request Pause: Take time for prayers, ceremonies, or rituals.
Correct Misunderstandings: Educate others if they make assumptions.
Honour Your Image: Ensure your image honours, not stereotypes, your culture.
Handle Symbols Appropriately: Guide respectful use of cultural items.
Privacy for Practices: Keep sacred or private cultural aspects confidential.
Reject Invasive Requests: Say no to anything that feels culturally invasive.

It's Okay to Need Support

Acknowledge Emotions: Recognise and act on feelings of overwhelm.
Reach Out: Connect with friends, family, or trusted individuals.
Take Breaks: Pause the session if emotionally drained.
Communicate Feelings: Let the photographer know your discomfort.
Arrange Support: Have a trusted person present during the session.
Seek Professional Help: Consult a counsellor/therapist if needed.
Have an Exit Strategy: Know you can stop or leave anytime.
Prioritise Well-being: Assess your emotional readiness before the session.
Post-Session Check-in: Monitor feelings afterwards and seek ongoing support.

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PROJECTS

In August 2014, the world witnessed genocide. Over the course of two weeks, the Sinjar region of Iraq was invaded by the so-called Islamic State(ISIS). ISIS militants undertook a strategic campaign to ethnically cleans Yezidis from esistence. 5,000+ men and older women were killed. Over 6,000 women and girls were taken in to ISIS captivity. Approximately 180,000 Yezidi people remain displaced almost ten years after the attack. This collaborative body of work serves as an archive to those still displaced today.

Art and activism are interwoven in Northern Ireland in myriad ways: life here has given us a lot to challenge, through conflict, reproductive injustice, hate crime and social inequalities. The mainstream media and cultural representations have often failed to adequately reflect these issues, instead focusing on simplistic depictions and homogenous voices. The artists here are part of a significant movement which brings together creative forces and social concerns to communicate with sensitivity, humour, eloquence and freshness. They present a grassroots alternative to our often-broken political system as a means to press for meaningful, longlasting change. Some of these artists are part of the Turner Prize-winning Array Collective whose sibín documented performative protests in support of legalising abortion and gay marriage and brought these local issues to a wider audience. Others take a stand against persistent gender inequalities or the disturbing rise in queer hate crime. Art in the North of Ireland, though growing out of a tiny place, has long found empathy and connection with global issues. Some of the work here carefully addresses overlooked and marginalised communities from outside our traditional domestic binaries, such as survivors of the Yezidi genocide, the missing Black bodies in the archives of war, and the experiences of refugees arriving to a context of hostile state rhetoric. All these artists propose collective action as a shared response to inequality and injustice. They insist on the validity and visibility of marginalised subjects and voices, and use art to inspire change through warmth, persistence and solidarity. Artists: Dr Emma Campbell, Dr Laura O’Connor, Dr Alessia Cargnelli, Sarah Tehan, Aidan O’Neill, Dr Jolene Mairs Dyer, Belfast Feminist Film School, A Culture of Hope, Belfast Won't Always be Like This, Donal Talbot In collaboration with the Free Yezidi Foundation and survivors of the 2014 Yezidi Genocide, this work in progress aims to highlight the current situation of survivors/victims almost a decade later. To this day, 2600+ people remain missing, assumed murdered or still in ISIS captivity, with over 180,000 people still displaced, living for ten years in ‘short term/temporary’ accommodation across 15 camps for internally displaced people in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Aware of the power of photography, a new tool of communication during his lifetime, 168 portraits of Fredrick Douglas were created, making him the most photographed man in America in the 19th Century. To mirror his recognition and engagement with the visual medium, this installation version displays 168 images by survivors collected and created on mobile phones and during collaborative sessions in the Duhok region of Northern Iraq. The importance of embracing new media and new ways of using it opens discussions around old methodologies and those who utilise them. This installation explores the problematic practice of outsider photographers, points towards new ways of working and highlights the importance and relative ease afforded to collaboration through tools such as the mobile phone. Artists: Zahra Alias, Mayasa Bro, Alia Qassim Dawoud, Flus Abrahim Faris , Hizrat Gali, Zina Haji, Suzan Haji Hasan, Wansa Ibrahim, Sulav Khdir Jaafar , Maria Kamo, Hadya Khudeda , Ghulizer Khalo Lazgen, Nadu Qasim Murad, Zeren Barjas Nisro , Zina Barjas Nisro, Aidan O’Neill, Zainab Salam, Khalida Ali Salo, Amera Shamo, Saada Shamo , Sanaa Suleiman

This body of photographic work by Aidan O’Neill documents the continued displacement and current realities of the Yezidi people, a community still living with the aftermath of the 2014 genocide. The work is grounded in the ethical framework of the Survivor Photo Guide , which places survivor agency, consent, and cultural respect at the centre of all photographic practice. Rather than a unilateral act of representation, these photographs emerge from a participatory methodology developed in collaboration with the Free Yezidi Foundation in Khanke, Iraq. Survivors are not only subjects of images but active co-authors in how they are created, selected, and shared. Workshops, group discussions, and collective editing sessions ensure that participants retain meaningful control over their visual narratives. This iterative process acknowledges that representation is never neutral: every photograph carries ethical responsibilities and long-term consequences for those pictured. Several principles guide this approach: Agency and Consent – Survivors decide if and how they wish to be photographed, with the right to pause, withdraw, or reshape their participation at any time. Safety and Care – Emotional and physical wellbeing are prioritized during both the image-making process and in decisions around public sharing. Cultural Respect – Photographs honour Yezidi traditions, beliefs, and collective memory without resorting to stereotypes or exploitative tropes. Shared Authorship – Images are reviewed, discussed, and often re-edited collectively, ensuring participants’ perspectives remain central. The resulting photographs are not mere records of displacement. They are layered testimonies shaped through dialogue, trust, and respect. By resisting the extractive tendencies of much humanitarian and journalistic imagery, this work seeks to build a more ethical and survivor-centred practice of visual storytelling. It asks viewers not simply to look, but to listen—to witness both the fragility and resilience of lives lived in the long shadow of violence, and to recognize the Yezidi community’s enduring struggle for justice, safety, and home.