Ethics and Privacy
Your story belongs to you.
Wagga Girls is built on trust, and that means being transparent about how your story will be collected, used, and cared for.
Before any recording takes place, every participant will be asked to read and sign a consent form that explains exactly how their words will be used, where the book will be published, and who will have access to their recordings and transcripts.
For casual conversations that are not recorded, I will ask you for specific permission on what, if anything, is included. For example, I’ve seen some wonderful comments coming in from the Facebook post I did on Lost Wagga Wagga. I would love to include some of these in the book, either anonymously or credited, but I will never do this without seeking written permission.
Consent is ongoing, which means you can change your mind or withdraw from the project at any time before the book goes to print, no questions asked.
You will have the opportunity to review your transcript before it is included in the book, and to request changes, remove anything you are not comfortable with, or clarify things you would like expressed differently. Your comfort with the final version matters.
If you would prefer to share your story without being named, that is absolutely an option. We will work with you to find an approach that feels right.
All recordings and transcripts are stored securely and privately. They will not be shared with third parties, and access is limited to those directly involved in the production of the book, which for now is just me!
You can view or download our consent form here:
A note on AI
I want to be transparent about how artificial intelligence is and isn’t used in this project. I share the ethical concerns of many people about the impact of AI on our workforce, our environment and society.
AI tools are used to support behind-the-scenes tasks such as research, organisation, and collating publicly available information. This helps me manage the project as a solo author. Any information entered into AI tools is limited to publicly available sources only.
No personal information, no names, contact details or any other personal information shared by participants will ever be entered into an AI system.
The final published book will contain no AI-generated content. Every word will be written by a human, every image will be a real photograph, and every story will be told in the words of the women who lived it.
Your story is yours. It will never be fed to an algorithm.