Flipping the lens – how photography can empower communities to tell their own story

“Before, when I thought about what happened, something inside me was stuck. Now, after sharing my story I feel lighter, and more free”.

Stigma is about perception. It’s the negative, unjust beliefs and assumptions about a particular group of people – the stories we are told about what it means to be living on a low income; to be a single parent, a migrant, a disabled person; to be Black or a person of colour; to be a woman, or LGBT+.

Stigma plays a huge role in normalising the poverty and inequality that blight our society. Stigma puts the blame for these injustices on the individual’s shoulders, to shift attention away from the real structural causes of poverty and inequality. Stigma erodes dignity and self-worth, and stops people accessing the support they need.

So as we work to build a future beyond poverty, we need to tell a different story.

At the Poverty Alliance we are privileged to work with activists and community members across Scotland who are directly experiencing poverty and stigma and are determined to speak out against them – to help change the narratives that allow poverty to exist.  

Over the past 6 months, 14 of these individuals have come together as peer researchers – commissioned by Fair By Design and supported by Poverty Alliance – to create a photo exhibition highlighting their personal experiences of being denied affordable credit, at times of unexpected need.

The exhibition ‘Give me some Credit – the reality of life without a safety net’ – aims to demonstrate why we need fairer banking systems, and more investment in community finance like Credit Unions (I’d invite you read more on this here). But it also shines a light on how it feels to be excluded from financial supports and pushed into insecurity. It shows the wider impact not just on your family and livelihood, but your wellbeing and sense of your own humanity.

Participants described “the feeling of being worthless, being rejected, being not good enough,” and “the idea that you don’t deserve it, it’s your own fault. It’s very cruel and ableist – anyone can be in this situation”.

The ‘Photostory’ approach aims to shift the lens – from a sense of scrutiny of a person’s choices and circumstances, to controlling your own narrative, challenging the unjust structures and assumptions at the root of the problem – putting across your own vision of a fairer more just society, and connecting with viewers’ compassion, on a human level.

There’s no need to be a photography expert – we worked as a group discussing what makes a strong image, developing the key messages each person wanted to get across in their own story, exploring how to do that visually. The mutual support and respect within the group encouraged each person to value the strength of their own insights and expertise-by-experience.  The bedrock is creating a safe and supportive environment, where each photographer-researcher is in charge of their own story.

Providing expenses and vouchers to compensate people’s time are crucial supports, too, that help people feel valued, and enabled to fully take part. Participants praised each other, and the process, for helping them ‘birth’ stories they felt proud of. As one person said: “Before, when I thought about what happened, something inside me was stuck. Now, after sharing my story I feel lighter, and more free”.

Earlier this month we launched the exhibition at the All Party Parliamentary group on Fair Banking in Westminster. A group of photographer-researchers travelled to attend and speak about their work, to a packed room of MPs, staffers – even some Lords – and many others with a role to play in building a fairer system. After a tour of the grand chambers and ornate hallways of our Parliament, it would be easy to feel small and intimidated – but each individual stood tall next to their work, their creations sparking questions, discussions and engagement with the issue of financial inclusion in a way that centred their expertise, on their terms. And we’ll be doing the same at Holyrood on 11^th March, kindly hosted by Financial Inclusion Scotland.

The group’s exhibition is a vehicle for people living on low incomes to change the narrative and flip the lens on poverty at the highest levels of our country – to reclaim some of the dignity denied by the structures of poverty, and assert the right to expect a better, more compassionate system – one that we can all surely agree is the only way forward for a just society.

We can all help to change the narratives and build towards a shared vision of a Scotland free from poverty – I can highly recommend this Stigma Toolkit from Fife colleagues as a great place to start.

This opinion forms part of a specially commissioned series by the Health and Social Care Academy which reflects learning and insights from the ‘Developing a picture of creative engagement in anti-stigma work’ report. This research builds on previous work undertaken by the ALLIANCE as part of the series ‘Reducing Stigma, Emphasising Humanity’.

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