Shadow Documentation
Official records tell their story. Create your own records to tell the truth.
Pressure addressed: psychological, displacement, leadership
Time: Ongoing systematic collection
People: Trained documenters, verifiers, data managers
Resources: Documentation systems, verification capacity, secure storage
About this tool
Official documentation is political. What gets recorded, how it's categorised, what's omitted, all reflect the priorities of those doing the documenting. When official records erase your experience, you need your own. Shadow documentation creates parallel records. Police incidents they didn't log. Health impacts they don't track.
How to do it
Identify documentation gaps
What isn't being recorded? What's being recorded incorrectly? Where do official records fail your community?
Design rigorous methodology
How will you collect? How will you verify? What standards will you meet? Rigour makes documentation useful.
Train documenters
Consistent methodology across collectors. Quality standards everyone follows. Professional practices.
Secure storage
Shadow documentation can be sensitive. How is it protected? Who has access? Backup systems.
Use strategically
Documentation serves purposes: advocacy, legal action, historical record. Know how you'll use it.
Before you start
- Documentation methodology
- Verification capacity
- Secure storage
Implementation guidance
Starting point
- Rigorous methodology that withstands scrutiny
- Systematic collection covering identified gaps
- Verification for all entries
- Secure storage with backup
- Strategic use for advocacy and legal purposes
- Documentation accepted by external parties
Building on it
- Methodology established
- Regular collection happening
- Basic security measures
Advanced practice
- Sloppy documentation easily dismissed
- Unverified information that damages credibility
- Insecure storage that exposes sources
Sloppy documentation gets dismissed, wasting effort and damaging credibility for future claims. Unverified information that turns out to be wrong destroys the credibility of everything else. Insecure storage exposes sources to retaliation.
Examples
Human rights documentation projects
Community-collected evidence of abuses not recorded officially
Evidence used in legal proceedings, policy advocacy, and historical record