Survivor Stories: Shari Franke

Photo credits: NBC

What must a person do when the greatest threat to her physical and mental well-being is her mother? In front of a camera, her mother was a serene, caring figure, yet the second the camera shut off, chaos ensued. Her childhood had slowly evolved into a cycle of smashing plates, harsh screams, and painful hits. Her name is Shari Franke, and she survived the abusive family YouTube channel “8 Passengers” and was featured on the Netflix documentary “Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke.”

Shari is the eldest daughter of the Franke family. The Franke family documented their life through a YouTube channel with over 2 million subscribers. What their fans did not know, however, was that Ruby Franke, the mother of the family, abused her children in numerous ways.

Firstly, the Franke children said that they hated being forced to perform in front of the camera, yet these feelings were ignored. Neglecting her children’s wishes, Ruby would film even when her children were uncomfortable and yell at them if they messed up a recording by speaking or making too much noise. At a certain point, the family’s entire schedule revolved around YouTube, according to Ruby.

Secondly, the Franke children often had their possessions taken away and were severely underfed. For instance, an older son of the family was not allowed to sleep on a bed for months. Similarly, the two youngest children of the family were found to be extremely malnourished and with many wounds on their bodies.

For years, such forms of abuse continued. Shari, alongside her siblings, endured both emotional and physical abuse as a false facade of their lives was constantly documented and posted for the entire world to see. This ultimately led Shari to seek to end family vlogging and raise awareness about the exploitation of children online through family vlogging, stating, “If I could go back and do it all again, I’d rather have an empty bank account now and not have my childhood plastered all over the internet. No amount of money I received has made what I’ve experienced worth it.”

Following her mother’s arrest, Shari wrote and published a book documenting her experience called The House of My Mother: A Daughter’s Quest for Freedom. Shari told lawmakers, “I come today as a victim of family vlogging. My goal today is not to present any idea of a solution to this problem but to shed light on the ethical and monetary issues that come from being a child influencer.”

Now, Shari has stepped back from the spotlight and is working on her relationship with her siblings and her father. She stated that she believes her mother is “as sorry as she can be” and that she does not “want to be anything like her.” By sharing her story and taking brave steps toward ending this issue through awareness, Shari has enlightened countless people to the abuse and exploitation that many victims of family vlogging, such as herself, undergo, even if it is behind a happy, innocent facade.

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Jurisview Journal is a student-led blog that publishes biweekly articles about interesting criminal cases. Our aim is to shed light on cases that require justice or further exploration and provide input on controversial legal events. We also publish infographics to help victims or those who wish to educate themselves on legal issues. 

In this series, Survivor Stories, we explore and share the stories of survivors of violence and crime. Through this, we advocate for justice and more attention to victims such as the survivors we feature.