Ethical Principles, Dilemmas and Risks in Collecting Data on Violence against Children

"Ethical guidelines are crucial when carrying out research on violence against children (VAC)."

The intent of this document on research ethics and methodologies is to provide guidance on to minimising the risk of potential harm resulting from the data collection process to participants, researchers, and others working on VAC research. As stated in the document, "[r]esearch ethics and methodologies are closely linked, with ethically sound research protocols and tools adding to the value of the research." From the Technical Working Group (TWG) on Data Collection on Violence against Children/Child Protection Monitoring and Evaluation Reference Group (CP MERG), the report is intended to contribute to the broader work on the development of the International Ethics Charter and Guidelines for Involving Children in Research, led by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)’s Office of Research at the Innocenti Research Centre (IRC) in collaboration with the Childwatch International Research Network.

"This review examines documentation, including both published and ‘grey’ literature that is of specific relevance to research ethics in collecting data on VAC. It includes ethics guidelines, codes, protocols and practice-related documentation, as well as research-based publications. An Internet-based search was used to identify and locate documentation for review.

The review has six main sections:
1. An introduction to the review and its aims.
2. A discussion of the scope and methodology of the review.
3. A review of ethics documentation, such as guidelines, codes and standards, focusing on aspects relevant to VAC. This starts with an overview of ethical principles and frameworks to provide a philosophical context for the paper, followed by a review of the documentation used to guide the implementation of ethics in research with children, and ethical policy and codes.
4. A review of publications relevant to ethics in research on VAC.
5. A discussion of the ethical challenges and dilemmas that emerged during the review process and possible recommendations from the literature.
6. Concluding comments."
Appendix 1 Documentation on ethics research publications
Appendix 2 Ethical codes listed by country or region

The review of published literature resulted in the exposure of key ethical issues, including consent (for example, passive versus active parental consent), protection from harm, privacy and confidentiality, and payment of research participants. "The findings point to the need to develop a strong framework for ethical research practice on violence against children, which provides clear direction while supporting reflexivity, given the multiple contexts in which the research takes place. Key ethical principles can provide guidance to support this development, in conjunction with a children’s rights-based approach to research on violence, underpinned by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The literature review points to the need for ongoing investment in continued discussion and the extension of knowledge through research."


Key findings include:
1. The need for documentation that relates specifically to ethical guidance for research on VAC.
2. The need for concise ethical guidance for researchers to interpret and operationalise.
3. The need for guidance in situations where referral to psychosocial support for children or child protection services is not possible (for example, is referral to adult services possible/advisable?).
4.The need for discussion of the relationship between the age of the children participating in data collection activities and the ethical considerations.
5. The need for research-based evidence about the risks for children associated with participating in research on VAC.
6.The need for analysis of cultural, social, political, and economic factors that interact to pose particular challenges related to these issues in different contexts.