Dr. Kirsten Foot, the Dart Endowed Professor of Trauma, Journalism, and Communication, has released an open-access Toolkit for Hope-Based and Solutions-Oriented Journalism on Human Trafficking. Dr. Foot co-produced the Toolkit with Deborah Pembrook, Sharan Dhanoa, and Dr. Nicole Dahmen, with contributions from Department members Meg Spratt and Tommy Ferguson, as well as journalists, human trafficking survivors, advocates, and public information officers (PIOs).
The Toolkit was conceptualized during a conversation between Pembrook and Foot in 2019 as a way to promote holistic reporting while discouraging journalism that focuses narrowly on the problem of human trafficking.
The aim of the Toolkit is to better equip media producers, PIOs, survivor advocates, and survivors to engage in storytelling that is not only trauma-informed, but also hope-based and solutions-oriented. Meant to supplement already-existing guides aimed exclusively at survivors or journalists, the Toolkit is the first to address them in relation to each other, as well as advocates and PIOs. Resources include a Guide for Survivors (which also comes in an abridged version), Guide for News & Media Producers, and a Guide for Advocates & PIOs.