Trust, ethics and consent
A site that argues Africans should tell their own stories has to answer the extraction question in public. This page is that answer: how consent works here, what communities are promised, what we take on and what we only document, and what anyone may do with our material.
Wannan shafi na Turanci ne yayin da masu magana da harshen ke duba fassararmu.
The consent standard
Before anything is recorded, the subject is told — in their own language, by the member recording — what VOAC is, where the material will appear, that publication may bring attention they did not seek, and that they can withdraw at any time, for any reason, without explaining.
- Consent is recorded (verbally on tape, in writing, or both), with the date, language and method logged. Publication is blocked in our system without that record — it is enforced in software, not policy.
- Every published story carries a visible consent badge stating when and in what language its subject consented.
- A subject who withdraws consent has their story unpublished within seven days, with an audit trail. Withdrawal is a single action in our system, not a negotiation.
- Where naming a subject could put them at risk — stories touching corruption, land disputes or officials — we publish anonymised, with the reason recorded internally, and we have a documented takedown procedure.
The give-back commitment
Every community receives its material back in a usable form — the recordings, the photographs, the transcript — before or at publication, not on request. And before anything is recorded, the community is told plainly what VOAC can and cannot promise. Being heard back is the first outcome of every story, and the only one we can guarantee.
The triage rule
VOAC acts on a problem when all three of these are true:
- a member has direct expertise in what the problem needs;
- movement is possible within ninety days; and
- someone local co-owns the work.
Everything else is documented only — published as an open problem, honestly marked as unclaimed — and the community is told which it is before we leave. Every problem page carries a triage note explaining why it was or was not taken on.
Republication terms
Journalists and outlets may republish VOAC stories free of charge, on these terms:
- Credit the subject by name and VOAC as the source, with a link back to the original story.
- Do not edit the subject's words except to shorten, and do not remove the story from the context of the problem it surfaced.
- Audio is republished with its transcript; the original language is never replaced by a translation.
- If a subject withdraws consent, republishers will be notified and must take the material down. The subject's rights survive republication.
For anything beyond this — broadcast use, excerpts in other works — write to hello@voac.africa.
What VOAC does and does not verify
A story is the account of the person it belongs to, recorded with their consent. We verify that the person exists, that they said what we publish, and that they consented. We do not independently audit every fact in their account, and we do not present their account as anything other than theirs.
A problem is published as the community names it. Before anything is recorded, the community is told plainly what VOAC can and cannot promise: we act on a problem only when a member has direct expertise, when movement is possible within ninety days, and when someone local co-owns it. Everything else is documented only — and the community is told which it is, before we leave.
An outcome is published only with its verification method and verifier named, including when the result is partial or failed.
This page was written before the site was built, on purpose. If anything on it and anything on the rest of the site ever disagree, this page wins — and we would like to hear about it: hello@voac.africa. See also how VOAC works.