Minimizing harm

Before visual materials or related datasets are published, shared, or linked to research outputs, minimizing harm should be reviewed again as a key ethical checkpoint. This means checking whether the planned communication respects the dignity, safety, and privacy of the people represented in the visuals. Consent conditions, identifiability, contextual sensitivity, anonymization choices, and possible degrees of openness should be reconsidered before making data available. 

Publication or dissemination should not be treated as automatic, even when consent has been obtained. Visual data should be shared only when ethical, legal, and methodological considerations support this choice. In some cases, restricted access, textual substitution, additional contextual information, or non-publication may be more appropriate.