DUNDEE UNIVERSITY FEMINIST SOCIETY

Trigger Warning guide for Facebook Page:

 

 

Firstly, why are they important?

 

It is important to understand that some people may have previous trauma that can be ‘triggered’ (i.e. experience flashbacks or general distress) through certain images, phrases or other content. Trigger Warnings were first developed to help people who suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder know the contents of a post before reading it. Whilst you may not be able to understand precisely how someone can be triggered, it is important to appreciate that others may have a different background and relationship with certain subjects that you do not have. As a rule, it is always better to be cautious. Never argue with someone about what is or is not triggering for them or accuse them of being oversensitive. Without trigger warnings, individuals who require them might not participate in discussion or feel safe, which detracts from our community.

 

Okay then, how do I use them?

 

Sometimes a trigger warning is shortened to ‘TW’. This is okay, but ideally putting ‘TRIGGER WARNING’ is more obvious for people unfamiliar with the abbreviation. The warning should be in CAPITAL LETTERS above the potentially triggering content at the very top of the post, with a very brief description of what your post contains. Be succinct but accurate; no graphic descriptions are needed as this can be triggering in itself. If you forget to include them first time round, please edit them in to your original post. If you comment on a thread but mention potentially triggering things, add a Trigger Warning at the top of your comment. If you think someone needs to add a Trigger Warning, please ask them to edit one in or tell an exec and they will instruct them to do so or delete their comment if it is actively causing distress.

 

Which topics need to have a Trigger Warning?

 

It would be impossible to list every single possible subject as they are varied and many. This stops some people from including a trigger warning, as they assume it is highly unlikely that anyone would be affected. This is not the way Trigger Warnings work! If even one person is distressed by an unlabelled topic, that is too many. Our aim is to create a safe, welcoming environment to all our members, where they can navigate our group freely without fear of having a sudden attack. There is no such thing as being overly cautious with this. If you are unsure, feel free to email someone on the exec. We’ll be happy to help you post safely. If you have a trigger that you do not want to make public, you may inform the executive who will broadcast anonymously that a specific trigger warning should be used to suit your needs.

 

Examples of Trigger Warnings

 

This is NOT an exhaustive list. This is merely to give an idea of SOME topics and the phrasing you should aim to use:

 

Sexual abuse/Rape

Frequent or flippant use of the word “Rape”

Domestic violence/Graphic description of violence/BDSM

Homophobia/Transphobia/Heterosexism/Racism/Ageism/Ableism

Self-harming behaviour (such as suicide, self-mutilation or disordered eating)

Slut/virgin shaming or body shaming

Common Phobias or specific phobia's that members have (such as spiders, heights etc.)

 

As a final measure we ask that when posting a link onto the Facebook page, any potentially triggering thumbnail be disabled. Here is how to disable a thumbnail -