Personal bias in advocacy: navigating the realm

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Advocacy and campaigning are often about storytelling.?

However, it can be challenging for advocates and experts to put their personal stories, ideologies, convictions, and aspirations in check when interacting publicly. This leads to the inability to discern context, facts, and evidence-based information from the emotional and personal agenda.?

Focusing on personal experiences might serve a social media activist or an influencer since their narrative is likely, based on that. For those speaking on behalf of a comprehensive, strategic, and long-term advocacy project, however, being caught up in a personal bias could be short-sighted and unproductive.?

That makes it important to be conscious of our story, beliefs, and privileges (or lack thereof).

Why does that matter? Because people don't evaluate intentions. They take our words and weigh our argument based on its relevance to their reality. The more we drift from that reality, the more we undermine the cause.?

Insisting that our stand is in the best interest of humanity, so others should follow course, is a disservice.?

Here are a few ways to draw a line:?

1. Understand the connection between your cause and your story: Consider your upbringing, religious beliefs, lifestyle, and incidents that shaped your opinions. If the cause is personal or you have an ideological stance on it, use it moderately, recognizing that perception is subjective, and people don't necessarily react the same for everything. If you have no connection, that might be ok, but acknowledge it.
2. Context, context, context: If you don't have insight into the context, you are not the right person to speak on the issue. Context helps you meet people where they are and helps you see which demands are reasonable/tolerable.?
3. Accept and regulate your bias: It's difficult not to get emotionally involved, for example, working on sensitive matters like gender-based violence. You might even be more emotional than the survivors. Putting the story in perspective while recognizing the emotion is the job.?
4. Progress is gradual: The idea that you can bring everything you don't like to zero is unrealistic. Social transformation, behavioral change, actions by big governments and complex institutions, and legal framework revisions are painstakingly long processes. When you are conscious of your story, you manage expectations better, which leads to celebrating minor changes and milestones. Let's face it; that might be all you get in a while.?