Ethics and images of suffering bodies in humanitarian medicine

► Images of victims displayed by medical humanitarian organisations are often problematic from the standpoint of biomedical ethics. ► The display of images of suffering bodies confronts humanitarian with medical moral values and reveals their differences. ► Calls for action and outrage are examples of distinct moral values which can justify humanitarian imagery. ► Different understandings of 'témoignage' underpin various degrees of the objectification of victims. ► For substantive and practical reasons specific to humanitarian action new processes of consent for imagery from victims need to be explored.