Digital Storytelling as a Global Tool for Challenging Public Stigma and Amplifying Recovery Narratives among Marginalized Women

<p><span lang="EN-GB">Public stigma surrounding mental health, addiction, and trauma remains a pervasive barrier to recovery, disproportionately affecting racialized and Indigenous women. This study explores how digital storytelling which is a participatory, creative method for sharing lived experiences can counter these stigmas through personal recovery narratives. Drawing upon intersectionality theory and narrative theory, this research examines how overlapping identities shape both the experience of stigma and the strategies women employ to resist it. Using a community-based, qualitative approach, 15 digital stories were purposively sampled from online grassroots platforms. Each was created by women who self-identified as being in recovery from addiction, trauma, or mental illness. Narratives were thematically coded using NVivo, with a focus on recurring motifs of resistance, identity reclamation, and community solidarity</span><span lang="TR">.</span></p> <p><span lang="EN-GB">The findings reveal that digital storytelling operates as both a therapeutic intervention and a public-facing act of feminist resistance. Storytellers used digital platforms to resist stigmatizing labels, illuminate intersectional forms of pain and healing, foster digital kinship, and challenge dominant frames of recovery. The public accessibility of these narratives transforms them into advocacy tools capable of shifting public perceptions and influencing health discourse. This study underscores the need for accessible, ethical, and inclusive digital storytelling infrastructures. The implications extend to policy design, public education, and mental health service delivery.</span></p>