We-Speak Review Guidelines

Overview

We-Speak is a project of Dublin Rape Crisis Centre. From time to time, we work with trusted partners to deliver the We-Speak platform.

The purpose of these guidelines is to describe the ways in our review team reviews and posts survivor stories on our platform. This includes the rules we follow, the content we review, and a few of the reasons we decide to add trigger warnings, not post stories, or send resources to survivors.

Redacting Identifiable Content

Because the intention of We-Speak is to provide a safe and confidential space for survivors, our first job is to redact any information that can identify the survivor or may compromise survivor safety. Below is a step-by-step guide on how we redact content and what type of content is usually redacted.

The We-Speak platform is made possible by the anonymity of the stories submitted. This community can only grow and support each other if all users do so in good faith and are conscious that any breach of anonymity, on another public platform of any kind could jeopardise the existence of We-Speak into the future.

Under Irish law, all individuals have a Constitutional right to their good name. This right is asserted through defamation law. A defamatory statement is one which would lower a person's reputation in the eyes of society, and would cause others to strongly dislike or ridicule them (unless it is true or substantially true). Defamatory statements can be made online or offline.

Contributors to the We-Speak website may also be active on social media. While it is very easy to publicise your own opinions and views on social media, please do not link what you upload to this site to your social media platforms. Think before you post, as you may be affecting somebody else’s reputation. This could in turn have a negative impact on your own life, the life of another and on the We-Speak platform.

We trust that you will bear this in mind now and in the future, both on We-Speak and beyond, in order to empower this community to grow.

We-Speak reserves the right to remove stories from the site, should we become aware that they are in breach of defamation law, or any of our other policies and guidelines.

Types of Content to be Redacted

In general, we redact anything that could give a clue to a survivor’s identity or location. Just because an individual cannot identify them, doesn’t mean their friend or perpetrator might not be able to.

Names

All first and last names are redacted from stories.

• If the name mentioned is the survivor’s name, we typically replace the name provided with “Survivor”
• If the name mentioned is the perpetrator’s name, we typically replace the name provided with “name”
• If the name mentioned is someone else in their life, we typically replace the name provided with who they are in relation to the survivor (i.e. friend, sibling, teacher, parent, etc.).
  

Other Proper Nouns (e.g. locations, organizations, schools)

Even if they are speaking positively about a place, we redact any proper noun and replace it with the type of noun it is (e.g. we replace “University College Dublin with “university”-- we replace “Galway” with “county”)

Specific Dates

Specific dates will be redacted from stories to ensure they are not identifiable. (e.g. we replace “5th September 1992” with “1992”) and specifics such as “Christmas 1992” will be redacted.

Artwork

In the case that a survivor submits a photography, realistic artwork, or other image depicting an easily identifiable person, we redact identifiable features (e.g. add a redaction blur to the face area). Even if the person’s face is not visible, it may still be necessary to redact other features or clothing of the person if they are particularly identifiable (e.g. unique costumes, name tags, etc.). The goal is to maintain the fidelity and purpose of the media while redacting identifiable components.

Decision To Not Post Stories

We-Speak reserves the right to not post stories that we deem are inappropriate or not applicable to our website. It is our responsibility to determine whether or not a story is appropriate for our page.

Story Not Appropriate

Stories that are not appropriate for We-Consent include:

1. Stories that belittle or put down survivor’s experiences
   Any story that talks negatively about survivors or blames them for their experiences
2. Stories that are obscene or vulgar
   Any story that has excessive graphic details or foul language
3. Stories that are considered “spam”
   Any submission where someone trying to advertise or sell something
4. Stories that appear to be “trolling”
   Any submission deliberately trying to evoke a negative reaction
5. Stories that the author explicitly states that they are under the age of 18
6. Stories that are in relation to child sexual abuse, whether that be current or historic

If we believe a story may not be appropriate for our page, we will escalate the review to one of our trauma experts. While we want to represent a diversity of experiences, we want to be sure we are creating a safe environment for survivors to learn from each other.

Story Not Applicable

Stories that are not applicable to We-Speak include:

1. Any submission that does not relate in any way to sexual assault, trauma, violence, or harassment
2. Submissions that do not have a logical flow or are difficult to read or understand

If we believe a story is not applicable, we will escalate the review to one of our trauma experts. While we want to represent a diversity of experiences, we want to be sure we are focusing on survivors of trauma and violence.

Recognizing and Acting on Suicidality

Survivors of sexual violence are often at higher risk of experiencing various mental health concerns including suicidality. As reviewers, we work very closely with our trauma experts to complete the review, and will send additional resources to the survivor via email where appropriate.

Elements of Suicidality

• Ideation — frequency, intensity, duration
• Plan — timing, location, lethality, availability, preparatory acts
• Behaviors — past attempts, aborted attempts, rehearsals (tying noose, loading gun) vs. non-suicidal self-injurious actions
• Intent — extent to which the individual expects to carry out the plan and, two, believes the plan/act to be lethal vs. self-injurious.

What do we do once we read a story that contains a suicidal ideation or statement?

1. If it is in the low risk category
   1. We flag it with a trigger warning and post the story as usual
   2. The survivor will receive a more personalized email with mental health resources
2. If is it in the moderate or high risk category
   1. We do not post the story
   2. We escalate the story to our trauma experts to review
   3. The survivor will receive a more personalized email with mental health resources

Recognizing and Acting on Homicidality

Although unlikely, it is possible that survivors of sexual violence may express wanting to injure/hurt others through our platform. This is something we want to take seriously. As reviewers, we work very closely with our trauma experts to complete the review and will often send additional resources to the survivor via email.

Elements of Homicidality

• Beliefs — If the survivor mentions hateful beliefs about an individual or group
• Plan — The survivor mentions a specific plan to harm someone else
• Available means and opportunity — If the individual mentions actually having access to a weapon, especially a gun, and has expressed homicidal intent and is able to reach the victim without much difficulty, there is a serious risk
• Past experiences with violence — If the individual mentioned acting upon violent feelings in the past and has a record of attempting to kill or hurt others, the risk is great that they will do it again, especially if their past experience did not result in a negative outcome. Violations of court orders or parole that have gone unpunished are examples of this

What do we do once we read a story that contains a homicidal ideation or statement?

1. If it is in the low risk category
   1. We flag it with a trigger warning and post the story as usual
   2. The survivor will get a more personalized email with mental health resources
2. If is it in the moderate or high risk category
   1. We do not post the story
   2. We escalate the story to our trauma experts to review
   3. The survivor will receive a more personalized email with mental health resources

Reporting Sexual Abuse of Minors

Our terms and conditions state that individuals must be over the age of 18 to post a story on our page. They also state that we cannot accept stories relating to child sexual abuse. Where a person submits a story of this kind despite the terms outlined, we will follow these review guidelines:

1. We-Speak cannot accept stories from those aged under 18 years, or stories relating to Child Sexual Abuse. If you are under 18 and submit a story, or if your story relates to Child Sexual Abuse, we will be unable to publish it.
2. If stories submitted contain identifiable information about yourself and/or another person, then we have a duty to report any child protection concern to appropriate authorities, as per the Children First National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children 2017.

A note on language: We know that language is important, and people feel differently about the terms used to describe people who have experienced sexual violence. Throughout our We-Speak platform, where space is limited, we will be using ‘survivor’, but we acknowledge that not everyone will identify with this term.

Thank you for being part of the We-Speak Community. We have carefully designed and reviewed these guidelines to create the safest environment possible for survivors while emphasizing the power of survivor storytelling. If you have any questions about these guidelines, please contact us at info@weconsent.ie.

Updated May 31, 2025