Language is a means of communication that we use every day and its influence is unsurpassed. Consciously or not, we can make bad situations worse by using language. Communication can be oral or written and with it, we definitely show our attitude, which is never neutral.
Every day we need to leave time to think about how we communicate, what impact our communication can have on others, whether it is work or family communication.
Language and practice of protection
From the point of view of protection, language is crucial. As people working in the protection sector, they must know how to use appropriate terminology, they must know how to explain complex professional terms in simple language in order to be understandable to a wider mass of people.
Different agencies and professions have different ways of understanding and describing needs, so a complex set of terminology and abbreviations that are not understandable to everyone is often used. If protection professionals do not respond adequately in the language recognized by the client they are addressing, they can cause a feeling of disenfranchisement and exclusion, which can further lead to great harm in work but further affect the outcomes and results of work.
How to de-stigmatize language?
If the words used by “professionals” imply hierarchy, moral superiority, or suggest blaming the victim, this could have a stigmatizing effect. Choosing neutral terminology or changing phrases to describe the abuse or harm that occurred, rather than blaming the victim, can make a big difference in increasing inclusiveness within protection practices.
For example:
Vojack (2009) suggests - that the words "person" or "individual" can be used instead of the words "client", "patient" and "recipient". Even better, real people's names can be used instead of assigning categories and labels. These changes reduce the hierarchy within the language used.
The Children’s Society and Victim Support recommend avoiding the use of terms such as “a young person has contacted adult men/women by phone or online” when discussing the exploitation of young people. This phrase implies that the young person is responsible for communication, rather than reflecting the context of the abuse. Instead, it can be said "adults have contacted a young person" or "a young person may have been dressed to the point of contacting ...".
Sporting Equals suggests avoiding the use of terms such as “hard to reach” as this implies that individuals choose not to engage and do not recognize the structural inequalities and obstacles that people may encounter. Instead, phrases such as “underrepresented community” or “communities facing barriers to participation”.
Using language to describe individuals
As all people are different it is extremely important to ask the people you communicate with how they would like to be described or described. For example, research by the National Society for Autism and the Mind found that some people preferred to use the language on which identity is based (i.e., call themselves an autistic person), while others preferred the term ‘person with autism because they only felt autism they formed part of their identity. If you are unsure, ask the person you are communicating with how they would like to be described.
Language is always evolving
The language we use changes regularly. This happens as new laws take effect and when the sector realizes that language can be improved to make people present themselves more accurately or do less harm.
If you have any resources that support organizations or professionals in customizing their language, please contact the Ann Craft Trust.