Our lives are constructed through narrative. We live our stories, and then we tell those stories in a way that allows us to make sense of them. But which stories do we choose to tell, and in what medium or format? How can we ethically share stories that we have witnessed, but not lived? What does it mean to center survivor narratives in the movement to end human trafficking? And why are “dangerous narratives” – stories that make people deeply uncomfortable – so critical to creating lasting social change?
In “Dangerous. Necessary. Narrative: The power, purpose, and ethics of storytelling in the movement to end human trafficking,” a featured panel discussion at World Without Exploitation’s Now to Next 2024 National Conference, Anne K. Ream, Co-Founder of Center for Story & Witness and author of Lived Through This, a memoir of her multi-country journey listening to gender-based violence survivors, moderated a dialogue with Emmy Award-winning journalist Ruchira Gupta, author of I Kick and I Fly, a young adult novel centered on a trafficked girl; memoirist Hannah Sward, author of Strip, a literary exploration of life in the sex trade; and activist Rachel Moran, whose groundbreaking book, Paid For: My Journey Through Prostitution, is a powerful reminder of the causes and consequences of commercial sexual exploitation.
