The logic is that shock will spur action. But study after study shows the opposite. Graphic content triggers avoidance. People scroll past. They unfollow. They disassociate.
The most successful campaigns I’ve seen don’t center on the trauma. They center on the life after . They answer the question that every survivor is silently asking: Is there a future for me?
If you are using a survivor’s story to raise money or engagement, pay them a consulting fee, a speaking fee, or a licensing fee. Their trauma is not public domain.
Stop counting impressions and retweets. Count hotline calls that result in a safe bed. Count policy changes. Count the number of times a friend intervened before the abuse escalated. Awareness is not a metric. It is a bridge to action. The Final Confession I am a survivor. I am also a former campaign director. And I have been complicit in asking other survivors to perform their pain for a good cause.
The logic is that shock will spur action. But study after study shows the opposite. Graphic content triggers avoidance. People scroll past. They unfollow. They disassociate.
The most successful campaigns I’ve seen don’t center on the trauma. They center on the life after . They answer the question that every survivor is silently asking: Is there a future for me?
If you are using a survivor’s story to raise money or engagement, pay them a consulting fee, a speaking fee, or a licensing fee. Their trauma is not public domain.
Stop counting impressions and retweets. Count hotline calls that result in a safe bed. Count policy changes. Count the number of times a friend intervened before the abuse escalated. Awareness is not a metric. It is a bridge to action. The Final Confession I am a survivor. I am also a former campaign director. And I have been complicit in asking other survivors to perform their pain for a good cause.