SURVIVOR’ STORIES/TESTIMONIES WHEN YOU LISTEN TO A WITNESS, YOU BECOME A WITNESS – Elie Wiesel

Becoming a victim of crime is a deeply traumatic experience for anyone, often leaving scars – physical or mental – that linger for many years after the event. It is important to educate people about the impact of crime.

Many victims of crime want to participate in positive action, to prevent what happened to them from happening again. Victims of crime are credible voices on the painful and human consequences of violence. For victims, ownership of their narrative is a key element of their experience, but this ownership is contested.

Testimonies of victims can provoke exchanges and give the target audience the opportunity to reflect on the story and relate to it.

Take a look at this article – Trafficked: Three survivors of human trafficking share their stories: https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2019/7/compilation-trafficking-survivors-share-stories

Take a look at this article bringing the stories of terrorist attacks’ survivors:

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/may/25/life-after-death-survivors-of-terror-attacks

It is important to understand the difference between a therapeutic storytelling and a testimony. The purpose of therapeutic/clinical storytelling of victims, is to enable the victim to privately and safely speak about what happened in order to overcome mental blockades. Testimony aims for the public, political and pedagogical spaces -the purpose of the testimony is to empower citizens by giving them a voice. In this case, the role of storytelling extends beyond catharsis; it is also a means of transforming a suppressed story into a new shared national history, as was the case for apartheid survivors in South Africa, or Nazi concentration camp survivors in Europe.

One of the working elements of testimonies of victims is the fact that people tend to relate to them. The testimony works by humanising the subject, leaving behind the strictly factual elements (number of deceased, description of circumstances, and so on). The personal stories of victims have two effects. They put a face to those who were attacked, and they also highlight how ordinary people can be affected and how they cope with shocking and harrowing situations. The testimony makes the event tangible, and allows people to have a sense of contact with the event. The audience, the viewers of the testimonies, can experience a sense of involvement and affective engagement – emotional co-presence. The more the victims are seen as ‘one of us’, the greater the impact their message will have for the audience. Victims telling their stories in their own community will increase this effect.

Not every victim wants to testify, nor are they all able to. Victims must manage their own personal (psychological and physical) consequences of the past, something which should be taken into account. Every victim’s different background and situation is different. Victims who share their stories have various reasons and motives for doing so. Narrating a testimony as a victim is emotionally demanding: this tends to be forgotten. Even if support is provided, people may still temporarily or permanently stop offering their narratives because they may not be able to cope with the task.

We must ensure that victims are not victimised again and/or re-traumatised as a result of their testimony.

Giving testimonies is praiseworthy, and it can have a positive effect on many people, including in the recovery process. However, in a minority of cases, there is a risk of ‘victimhood’ weakening rather than empowering the individual. This implies that they identify to a detrimental degree (increasingly or fully) with the violent act and its consequences leaving no room anymore for other aspects of (their) life. They remain focused on all the problematic and painful aspects of the incident, even after a long period of time, and it may be increasingly difficult or even impossible for them to look to the future and focus on recovery, which in turn renders them dependent and passive. In such instances, it may be counterproductive to use their testimonies, as this may disempower rather than empower them to recover.

Testimonies come in various forms: direct face-to-face testimonies; and indirect testimonies told through photography, film, internet and social media. It is not just the story itself that is decisive — there are other important elements: how the story is told, by whom, where, through which channel, with what goal and to which audience.

Testimonies can be recorded on film and published online, for example on a YouTube channel or Facebook, or spread via social media or email. Using the internet can be beneficial for the distribution of the narratives. The internet allows access to a broader audience, and it is a relatively easy means of distribution. Furthermore, the distribution is less time-consuming and less resource intensive for the victim, who would give the testimony only once, during the recording. Testimonies can be collected on a website or forum. Websites can provide information, inspire, create awareness and activate people, but also give rise to social networks and provide a library with background information and workshops for teachers, and expertise for the media.

Here are several projects of victims’ testimonies:

 Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN) – considered how testimonies from victims of terrorism can work as a powerful narrative in countering violent extremism. The mission of the RAN VVT is to make the victims heard, their positive values understood and their role empowered to use an effective tool to make people aware of the dangers of terrorism and violent extremism.

 Victim Support Scotland, “Share your story to help others affected by crime” project. Stories of people affected by crime, and their journey through the criminal justice system can make a real difference to other people in the same situation. Hearing about a similar experience can reassure people that they are not alone during an emotional and difficult time. This can be a great source of comfort. See online: https://victimsupport.scot/how-you-can-help/tell-us-about-your-experiences/share-your-story-to-help-people-affected-by-crime/

 ‘Witness of history’ (Austria), a Sisters Against Violent Extremism (SAVE) project, introduces youngsters during their formative years to the reality of violent extremist ideologies, and presents alternatives to revenge. As victims and survivors, they speak from a position of authenticity and moral authority, and with personal conviction. The ‘Witness of history’ films give a human face to the tragic terrorist attacks and create a potent counterbalance to extremist propaganda. The personal stories of victims whose experience of grief and loss has made them stronger and able to take a positive stance help plant a seed of doubt in the minds of those who might consider supporting violence, or who lack alternatives. See online: http://www.women-without-borders.org/projects/37

 Equality Now is an organisation aiming to achieve legal and systemic change that addresses violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world. Their stories project advocates for survivors to be listened to and given a platform to speak. See online: https://www.equalitynow.org/stories_of_survivors