Children are Not Props: Consent in the Global South

To analyse and understand the developments in this present day, we need to go back in time. Charity appeals generally became popular in the 1980s in response to humanitarian issues within the global south, such as the devastating drought in Sudan and Ethiopia. The crisis caused a wave of charities/ International Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) to embark on massive charity campaigns distributed as TV ads, songs and posters e.g World Vision. Its aim was to raise awareness and funds to assist in alleviating the pain of those directly affected by the drought and food shortages. With these campaigns came a swarm of photographers flying into the affected areas and capturing still and moving images of children and adults that embody the catastrophe. Now, it is entirely understandable why there is a need to capture evidence of what’s happening on ground and its impact; however, it becomes problematic when the focus of these campaigns are children – mostly photographed in ways that ‘other’ them (to view or treat a person as different/alien to oneself).

It is still common for photographers to parachute into different parts of the Global South that were or are experiencing humanitarian issues (there has, however, been an increase in local Photographers being hired to tell stories on ground). Their job, in a nutshell, is to appeal to the Global North to donate money to help those affected by humanitarian crises. They achieve this by pulling at the heartstrings of an average human being, which (according to a study posted by UK Fundraising) is usually done by photographing a child affected by the issue. For example, if it is about hunger or sickness, you will get the classic image of a shirtless child with a protruded stomach gazing helplessly into or away from the camera’s lens. These images are guaranteed to move someone in a more privileged position to donate to the cause and thus ‘save’ that child. The issue with this is not necessarily the intention behind it because the intention is usually good. The problem is how these photographs are obtained and eventually distributed.

Despite countless organisations agreeing that consent is important, some, unfortunately, abuse their power by presenting inaccessible consent forms, which means the collaborator will not fully understand what they are filling out. In such cases, consent is weaponised and acts as protection for the organisation - rather than preserving the rights of the collaborator. The essence of a consent form is to protect both parties and clearly state the rights that both parties have regarding the images. It is essential to create structures that ensure those permitting their images to be used are doing so free from deception or complicated legalese language.

Another question to ask yourself is if you were in a part of the Global North with strict rules regarding photographing people, especially minors, would you think it appropriate to photograph a minor, especially without their guardian’s consent? It is imperative to note that just because there may be a variation of laws in some parts of the world, it does not give one the right to exploit situations that would otherwise not present themselves if we were in the Global North.