I'm a survivor who is now studying social work. I'm interested in connecting with other survivors to learn about their experiences and gather demographic information for my studies. Is it possible to connect with other survivors through this platform?

It's wonderful that you're pursuing social work and want to use your own experiences to inform your understanding and support of others. That kind of personal insight can be incredibly valuable in this field. It's also completely understandable that you'd want to connect with other survivors, especially as someone who has walked a similar path. Many survivors do seek out community for shared understanding and to discover they're not alone.

This particular platform isn't designed as a space for survivors to connect directly with one another in an informal way, but we do sometimes partner with people who want to support survivors through research and other collaborative work. We have strict collaboration guidelines and privacy protections in place to ensure that survivors' wellbeing and autonomy are always centered. Survivors who share on our platform can opt into and out of research opportunities, which means they maintain control over whether and how their experiences are included in any studies or projects. This approach respects the fact that sharing one's story is a personal choice that can change over time, and survivors deserve to have agency over their own narratives and information.

If you're interested in exploring a potential research partnership or learning more about how we work with people in the social work and academic fields, you can reach out to [email protected] with questions. They can provide you with information about our collaboration process, ethical guidelines, and what opportunities might be available that align with your studies and goals. If you're hoping to gather information for research or academic purposes through other avenues, there may be ethical requirements, like obtaining approval from your institution's review board, to ensure the safety and anonymity of any survivors who choose to participate. Survivors often need to feel certain that their voices will be respected and that they won't be re-traumatized by sharing their stories.

As a fellow survivor, it's natural to bring empathy to these conversations, but it can also be emotionally taxing to absorb so many difficult histories. It's wise to ensure you have supportive resources in place for yourself too as you pursue this work. Thank you so much for reaching out and asking this!