Thank You For Sharing Your Stories: A Note To Those Who Have Participated In Our Research Studies

By Christine Murray and Allison Crowe, See the Triumph Co-Founders

As we’ve been working on this month’s theme of “Every Survivor Has a Story,” we’ve been going back through the stories of the survivors who participated in our research, including our original research studies and the current study we’re conducting now. It’s been a powerful reminder of how so many survivors have entrusted us with their deeply personal stories of experiencing and overcoming abuse. Between all of our studies, we've heard from hundreds of survivors by now, and we are thankful for each and every one of you.

As researchers, it’s not often that we pause to express deep gratitude to participants in our studies. However, we want to take time to do that today, to let anyone who has participated in one of our interviews and/or surveys just how much we appreciate the time and insights you shared with us.

Nearly all of our research has been collected anonymously, and this was done to protect participants’ confidentiality and to ensure that people can feel free to share openly without needing to disclose their identities. This is important to the methodology of our research, but it does mean that we aren’t able to reach out individually to participants to thank them for being part of our research. So, we hope by expressing our gratitude here, we will reach at least some of the many people who have so graciously shared their stories with us.

And so, to those who have shared your stories with us through our research, we want to say thank you:

• Thank you for entrusting us with your stories, even though sharing them likely meant revisiting painful memories and experiences that almost certainly would be easier to avoid revisiting.
• Thank you for sharing with us how deeply your own experiences have motivated you to want to help others. We feel a deep sense of responsibility to use the stories and insights you shared to help inspire and educate others. That’s the driving force behind See the Triumph: To ensure that your insights and experiences can help others.
• Thank you for your honesty. The stories you’ve shared have been at times heartwarming, heartbreaking, inspiring, unsettling, and even shocking. We appreciate that you’ve trusted us enough to share the truth, even when it isn’t “pretty.”

It is truly such an honor for you to have shared your stories with us. We hope that our efforts through See the Triumph play some part in harnessing the power of your stories for creating the social change needed to end abuse and the stigma surrounding it, as well as supporting other survivors. Please know that, by sharing your stories with us, you have certainly inspired us, and we know that you are inspiring others as well.

With sincerest thanks,

Christine & Allison

PS--Please remember that study participants’ anonymity and confidentiality are still important to us, and we ask anyone who may have participated in our research to not publicly identify themselves as such here on our blog or through our social media channels.