How DAR Talks documents testimony

DAR Talks documents testimony to a standard that can be used by journalists writing carefully, by lawyers building cases, and by tribunals that may, one day, sit. This statement sets out, in summary, the standards we work to. The full methodology page is published at How We Document.

Consent

No testimony appears on this platform without informed consent from the person who gave it. Informed means: the survivor was told what DAR Talks is, what publishing means, and who is likely to read the testimony; she was told what details can be redacted on request — names, locations, relatives, dates — and she chose what to redact; she was told she can withdraw consent at any future date, and the testimony will be removed from the public archive within fourteen days; and the consent conversation was held in her first language, by a trained intake worker, with no time pressure.

We do not pay for testimony. We do offer practical support — travel costs, childcare, a meal, medical referrals — and we record what was offered in the case file.

Verification

A testimony reaches the public archive only after a second account, document, or contemporaneous record corroborates at least one specific, falsifiable detail; only after a second member of the documentation team has reviewed the file; and only after the survivor has confirmed the published wording.

Where the testimony names individuals as perpetrators, we either redact the name on publication or follow the higher evidentiary standard our partners use for legal submissions. We do not publish testimony we cannot corroborate to this standard. We keep those accounts in a secure archive for future verification.

Redaction

Every published testimony carries a visible redaction log. Where text has been removed, the page shows [redacted — at survivor's request] or [redacted — to protect a person still in Sudan]. The category is shown; the detail is not.

Security

Survivor identities, contact details, and full case files are held in encrypted storage. Platform staff accessing those files use hardware security keys and per-user access controls. The list of people with access is reviewed quarterly. No file is shared by unencrypted email. The public-facing site does not host a testimony-submission form; intake happens on separate, hardened channels.

Partners

We document in coordination with Darfur Women Action Group (DWAG), Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA Network), and the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS). Where a partner has already documented an incident, we link to their record rather than duplicate it. Where we have documented an incident our partners can use, we share — within the limits set by survivor consent.

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