WHY I STOPPED TAKING PHOTOS OF CHILDREN ON OUR TRAVELS

I stopped taking photos of children on my travels, then I stopped taking photos of anyone except us. Here’s why I made this decision and why I hope more people will stop taking photos of children too.

In late 2016, less than a year after six-year-old Emmie and I started backpacking fulltime around Asia  together,  I was looking at the photos I’d been taking on our travels. Many of them were of her and local children we’d met along the way. As I scrolled past them I felt very uncomfortable. Even though they were what I considered innocent photos of kids playing in sunshine, in rivers and on beaches, some were of local kids without Emmie in them. Some were of Bajau Laut sea gypsy children living in poverty in Mabul Island, and there were a couple of photos of Emmie with two little girls on temple steps in Chaing Mai, Thailand that I had paid the parents to take because they looked ‘so cute’ even though I could tell they were sad.

I knew in my heart it wasn’t right.  It was not my right to take these photos.

I realised I was wrong. I thought about how I would feel if a stranger was taking photos of Emmie without my permission, or if a stranger asked permission to take photos of her and I felt so intimidated that I agreed. Or if I had so little money I took my her to tourist spots dressed in traditional costumes so tourists could pay for photos, rather than her being in school.

I admit, I had been ignorant. But since that day I have never taken another photo of a child or an adult as we travel, and I deleted the photos I’d taken.

Young kids really can’t give informed consent to their photos being taken. And we are knowingly fooling ourselves when we ask them – or their parents – if it’s okay to take their photo and take their okay – or lack of objection – as consent.

Quite simply, we are taking advantage of them, especially if these photos end up on social media.

I don’t think there is any excuse to take photos of children while traveling.

Here’s why I stopped and why I hope you will  too.

Children are not old enough to give consent.

A three or four year old is not capable of giving considered permission for us to take their photo and put it all over the internet. I think any child under 16 can’t give informed consent and there are many reasons why they may say yes:

• they don’t know what you’ve asked them
• they don’t understand where your photo will go
• they feel pressured and intimidated to agree
• they are hoping for money to help their impoverished families

It is not our right to take and share photos of children.

We can choose to take and share photos of our own children, but we should never take and share photos of other children.

Asking and gaining their permission gives us a false agreement as we know in our hearts these kids are not capable of giving informed consent. And taking acquiescence as agreement is even worse. But we can make ourselves feel a little better by thinking, well they said I could take their photo, or they didn’t object so it’s okay. That’s just not good enough.

It puts children at risk of leaving school to earn money from photos

Photographing children puts them at greater risk of having their images exploited throughout social media. It also creates a risk that children and families will see tourists photos as a way to earn an income for their family and community. Children will be pulled out of school (as they were seemingly in Chiang Mai) and put to work to earn money through having their photos taken. This is stealing their opportunity to gain an education, improve their lives and break from the poverty cycle.

Privilege versus poverty.

And it’s not fair to ask the parents either (and the adults with them, if they are selling goods or dressed up, may not even be their parents). Even if their parents say yes it is permission given in an unequal relationship. Our privilege gives us power in a request to take photos and it is unfair for us to even ask. They are in poverty, tourists have money and perceived power – it is an unfair discussion. They may feel they have to agree, and also then see photographs of their children as a way of earning money.

If you want to help local families please donate to a reputable aid agency in the country.

Their privacy is worth more than our social media popularity.

Do these photos in any way help these children? Not really. But they could get lots of likes on social media. Is that really a valid reason to take photos of kids? We should stop looking at children as photo opportunities and engage and really try to understand the situation they are in. Put the camera away!

We should protect children not exploit them.

If I take and share photos of little children like the Bajau, it’s possible that others will want to take the same photos and the cycle of tourist photography – all for a nice pic on instagram or facebook – continues, without helping the people being photographed. But if I don’t share, and others don’t share, and we stop taking photos of children then that it will help protect the children and the communities they live in. We can raise awareness without taking their photos. Keeping the camera in our bag helps to protect these children and maintain their privacy.

You wouldn’t let people do it to your kids.

Traveling with Emmie we have a lot of people ask for photographs with her, and a lot taking sneaky photos, which I hate!

If a stranger came up to her and asked to take her photo, then took her agreement (unlikely as she is over it!) as consent and posted her photo everywhere I would be really mad. Sometimes she will agree to a photo – like with a bunch of Chinese girls at Disneyland, which is cute and fun. And that’s okay. But she is not living below the poverty line with tourists snapping pics of her daily.

When is it okay? 

The only pics I can think of that I would be okay with using are ones where we had a long term relationship with a family, or photos where children were entirely un-identifiable such as a silhouette. I really can’t think of any others.

These are my thoughts and my way forward and I am very comfortable with my stance.

And maybe we can start to measure the integrity and of a social media account by its lack of photos of children.

What do you think?

Read more about  this and ethical travel at the Child Safe Movement. You can read all their info at www.thinkchildsafe.org

Evie xoxox