How three movements rewrote the rules - and what it means for animal freedom

Swipe-worthy narrative tactics inside...

Many social justice movements have intentionally shifted away from portraying those affected as helpless victims, and instead adopted storytelling that highlights their agency, dignity and shared humanity. These pivots often helped build public empathy and increase support for systemic change. Here are three examples:

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1. Movement for people seeking asylum

Narrative shift: ‘Helpless refugee’ or ‘threat’ >>> ‘friend/neighbour/families seeking safety and belonging’.

• This video from the United Nations exposes the harmful narratives that are used about people who are migrants, urging a shift in narrative from fear to acceptance and solidarity.

• Advocacy groups for people seeking refuge/asylum found that repeatedly showing images of trauma and suffering led to emotional numbing or compassion fatigue. It also reinforced a dynamic of ‘us’ (the saviours) vs ‘them’ (the pitiful outsiders).

• Organisations like IMIX, Refugee Action and Hope Not Hate began using narratives that centre on shared values like home, family, love and contribution. Instead of showing only hardship (the ‘nightmare’), they highlighted stories of courage, community and hopes for the future (the ‘dream’).

• The 1000 Dreams campaign empowered refugees to share their own stories - highlighting their strengths and aspirations, and challenging the often dehumanising narratives prevalent in mainstream media. Campaigns like this helped shift the frame from ‘charity’ to ‘community’, and again, focus more on the ‘dream’ than the ‘nightmare’.

• Ads like the below frame people seeking refuge as relatable - a valuable part of community and part of a ‘bigger us’. It also frames supporting pro-asylum policies as being ‘neighbourly’ - tapping into the persuasive ‘good person’ identity.

  

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2. Housing and homelessness movement

Narrative shift: ‘Rough sleeper’ (which reinforces a ‘social outcast’ frame) >>> ‘neighbours without homes’.

• Charities like Crisis and Shelter moved from bleak photos of people sleeping on pavements to stories that affirm people’s identities beyond their housing status.

• The Home is a Human Right campaign focuses on the systemic causes of homelessness and elevates the voices of people with lived experience, showing their aspirations, talents and relationships.

• Campaigns increasingly use framing like: “We all need a safe place to come home to”, embedding homelessness within a narrative of shared human need rather than individual failure or tragedy.

• Ads like the below, from The Coalition for the Homeless, disrupt harmful stereotypes of people experiencing homelessness. It powerfully communicates this could happen to anyone, subtly exposing how this is a systemic problem, not an individual one.

  

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3. Disability justice movement

Narrative shift: ‘Tragic victim’ or ‘inspiration’ tropes >>> stories of autonomy, pride and systemic exclusion.

• Groups like Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC), Sins Invalid and the Social Model of Disability campaigners have long critiqued narratives that either pity disabled people or use them as motivational tools.

• Instead, they centre the barriers created by society – not individuals’ impairments – and tell stories of resistance, community organising and pride. The slogan “Nothing about us without us” highlights their refusal to be passive subjects.

• Messaging now often reinforces values-based narratives like justice and solidarity, e.g. “Disabled people are part of every community. When we fight for inclusion, we’re fighting for everyone’s future.”

• Fashion brands have also started to frame people with disabilities as part of a ‘bigger us’ - showing them as confident and proud in their unique individuality. Yes, it might be for corporate gain, but it still helps shift the public narrative…

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These narratives shifts have often increased both empathy and identification with those adversely affected by issues. Instead of people feeling pity and emotional detachment, they see the affected individuals as part of a bigger us – neighbours, peers, extended family. This can lay a stronger foundation for public backing of policy change and cultural transformation.

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What narrative shifts could we use in the animal freedom movement?

Below are 5 simple - yet powerful - reframes…

1. Shift from ‘victim’ frame to ‘unique individual’

Problem: Portraying fellow animals only as suffering victims can overwhelm or distance people who are further back on their hearts, mindset and actions journey. It can activate guilt or helplessness, rather than solidarity.

Reframe: We can frame fellow animals as individuals with relationships, desires, dreams and the capacity to resist. We can share stories that reveal not just their pain and suffering (which is vital), but also who they are as individuals, and how they have the capacity to heal and live their best lives. In short, we can remind our audiences how much we share in common and what animal freedom looks like.

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2. Activate shared values, not guilt

Problem: If our communications provoke guilt in our audiences, this creates distance, whereas shared values create connection.

Reframe: Anchor messaging in values like family, fairness, freedom and community – values most people already hold. Emphasise that animal freedom isn’t about ‘them vs us’, but about who we all are and the kind of world we can all benefit from living in.

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3. Centre fellow animals’ experiences – through stories, not just stats

Problem: Data and horror imagery can desensitise audiences further back in their journey, whereas stories have the power to create a feeling of emotional truth.

Reframe: Bringing individual experiences to life through personal stories can help create empathy, not just awareness.

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4. Highlight what we’re for, not just what we’re against

Problem: If people think we’re just against cruelty, this can reinforce a welfare frame.

Reframe: If people understand that we want all animals to be free and thrive, it reinforces a freedom frame. By emphasising that we all want a society rooted in kindness, fairness and respect, we can show how animal freedom benefits everyone, not just our animal cousins.

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5. Widen the frame from ‘individual change’ to ‘systemic change’

Problem: Focusing solely on lifestyle changes, like veganism, can unintentionally place responsibility only on individuals and obscure the systemic drivers of animal exploitation.

Reframe: While we can still emphasise that individual actions matter, we can also communicate how real change comes from dismantling harmful industries and systems, and calling for broader, societal transformation.

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To find out more about how we can help change the narrative to build public support for animal freedom, check out Animal Think Tank’s Narrative Change Mini Guide.