Ethics of Participatory Research with Children on the Topic of Violence

The scope of the presentation is to reflect on the protectionist, versus the rights-based perspective on research with children, as experts of their lives. The research questions followed in the presentation are focused on the utility of consulting children, the gatekeeping role of caregivers and institutions, the eventual distress and harm caused to children when denied participation, and the benefits for children and youth of participation in research on violence in families, schools and childcare institutions. The presentation will reflect on the need to mobilize children’s agency for their meaningful research cooperation in research with sensitive topics such as violence. We reflect on the opportunity of waving parental/or caregiver consent for participatory research on maltreatment, an alternative mentioned in international guidelines of research with children, for studying the topic of violence. Examining specific participatory research examples (for ex. children with migrating parents, children with experience of violence in the families, children with experiences of school and institutional violence) we shall point to the possible measures that can safeguard children "in loco parentis" and can empower them to express their voices.

Examined from children's rights perspective, the research examples lead to the conclusions that asking for caregivers’ permission for participation of children and youth in research on violence can impede their rights to express their opinion on issues that are central to their lives; therefore, it should be waived. Instead, researchers should take young people seriously and respect all ethical regulations of research with any other person (confidentiality, anonymity, volunteer participation and nondiscrimination), while planning to mitigate risks of distress for children and young people, according their age, ensuring professional psychological and social support.