Protect contributors
Identity and safety come before access, credit, and speed.
Ethics
Security and trust come first.
The archive works under strict ethical and security standards. Trust shapes every decision, from how evidence is handled to how stories are told.
Standards
Four rules that do not bend.
Keep custody unbroken
Every handoff is recorded. Material without a history is not treated as ready.
Prevent re-trauma
Testimony is not collected twice for the sake of a cleaner interview.
Refuse compromised funding
The archive does not take money from political or governmental entities.
Practice
What that means in the work.
Contributors are not named unless they ask to be, and unless naming them is safe.
Material without a chain of custody is not described as verified.
People are not interviewed again so a publisher can have a cleaner quote.
Money from political parties or government bodies is refused.
A public web form is never treated as a place to send evidence.