Ethical considerations for children’s participation in data collection activities during humanitarian emergencies: A Delphi review
Ethical considerations for children’s participation in data collection activities during humanitarian emergencies: A Delphi review
A Delphi review by Cyril Bennouna, Hani Mansourian, and CPC director Lindsay Stark, sought to identify expert consensus on whether and how children participate in emergency-related data collection activities. With almost half of statements reaching clear consensus, these findings reflect broad agreement within the sector about engaging children in data collection in emergencies. At the same time, points of ongoing debate around how to factor different risks into child participation decisions may indicate discordant practice. Further reflection is needed around how factors such as the phase of emergency, the existence of basic services, and cultural beliefs should influence whether and how children participate.
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“Worse than the War”: An Ethnographic Study of the Impact of the Ebola Crisis on Life, Sex, Teenage Pregnancy, and a Community-Driven Intervention in Rural Sierra Leone
The purpose of this research, undertaken by the Inter-Agency Learning Initiative on Community-Based Child Protection Mechanisms and Child Protection Systems, is to illuminate both the wider impacts of the Ebola crisis on people’s lived experiences, with an emphasis on children, and its more specific effects on issues related to teenage pregnancy and its prevention. The key findings are presented in three sections: general effects of the Ebola crisis, effects on teenage pregnancy and related issues, and effects on the community-driven intervention. Four key recommendations grew out of this research, which include strengthening the training and monitoring of emergency workers, improving the alignment between community practices and those recommended by Westernized health systems, building emergency preparedness and response and disaster risk reduction into community-driven interventions, and re-prioritizing the prevention of teenage pregnancy in Sierra Leone, building social protection into prevention efforts.
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Beyond Survival: The Case for Investing in Young Children Globally
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Birth Registration in Indonesia
Birth registration is the first legal recognition of a child and a fundamental human right. Worldwide, nearly 230 million children younger than 5 years do not have a birth certificate, rendering them invisible to the state. Indonesia is one of the countries plagued by this so-called scandal of invisibility, with more than 24 million Indonesian children remaining undocumented. This number is concerning, given existing evidence linking a lack of birth registration to increased school drop-out, child trafficking and labour, and reduced access to health, social services, and education. The resources below highlight the work on this issue coming out of the Center on Child Protection at the University of Indonesia (PUSKAPA), a CPC institutional affiliate.
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Violence Against Children in a Humanitarian Settings: A Literature Review of Population-Based Approaches

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Examining Child Protection Rapid Assessment: a Structured Review of Field Learning from the CPRA Toolkit
From May to September 2013, the Child Protection in Crisis (CPC) Network conducted a structured analysis of field learning regarding the Child Protection Rapid Assessment (CPRA) toolkit, in order to identify key findings, lessons learned, and recommendations for its future use and implementation. The review covered use of the CPRA toolkit in 15 countries: Burkina Faso, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Mali, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Somalia, Syria, Thailand, Tunisia, and Yemen. This study found that the CPRA toolkit was a valuable addition to the field and a means of increasing the methodological rigor with which child protection assessments are carried out. However, findings suggest the tool is often dependent on technical assistance, it is used outside of the recommended time frame, and that additional approaches were often used in conjunction with the tool.
The research brief and full report are below.
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Developing Culturally Relevant Indicators of Reintegration for Girls, Formerly Associated with Armed Groups, in Sierra Leone Using a Participative Ranking Methodology
This article, published in Intervention, describes a participative ranking methodology for identifying local understanding of reintegration and adjustment of potential value in program planning and evaluation. It was applied in the context of girls formerly associated with fighting forces in Sierra Leone. Fourteen discussion groups, utilizing spontaneous listing and participative ranking activities, within a focus group framework, were conducted in 10 communities. Discussions served to identify family support, marriage, involvement in communal activities and income generating activities as locally seen indicators of a girl’s successful reintegration after the war.
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Measuring Violence Against Children in Humanitarian Settings: A Scoping Exercise of Methods and Tools
From May-December 2013, the Child Protection in Crisis (CPC) Network and Save the Children UK conducted a scoping exercise in order to examine two child protection issues considered “hard to measure” in humanitarian settings: sexual violence against children and violence within the household. The goal of this exercise was to identify existing methodologies and tools to assess these issues, as well as to highlight gaps in current approaches and offer recommendations for further action.
The research brief and full report are below.
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A Systematic Review of Prevalence Studies of Gender-Based Violence in Complex Emergencies
Current methods to estimate the incidence of gender-based violence in complex emergencies tend to rely on nonprobability samples. Population-based monitoring is undertaken relatively infrequently. This article published in Trauma, Violence and Abuse provides a systematic review of published literature that represents attempts to quantify the magnitude of gender-based violence in emergency settings. Searches adopted a Boolean procedure, which led to initial selection of material that was then reviewed against set criteria. Only 10 studies met the final criteria for inclusion. Intimate partner violence, physical violence, and rape were the three categories of violence most frequently measured. Rates of intimate partner violence tended to be quite high across all of the studies—much higher than most of the rates of wartime rape and sexual violence perpetrated by individuals outside of the home. Direct comparisons of rates of violence were hindered by different case definitions, recall periods, and other methodological features. Recommendations for future studies are offered based on lessons learned from the studies reviewed.
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Measuring the Incidence and Reporting of Violence against Women and Girls in Liberia
This article, published in Conflict and Health, reports on the use of a “neighborhood method” to measure the nature and incidence of violence against women and girls in post-conflict Liberia. The study population comprised females in Montserrado and Nimba counties. Study participants were randomly selected for interviews using multi-stage cluster sampling. 30 clusters of households were sampled in each county. Information on incidents of domestic violence and rape within the preceding 18 months was collected with regard to females of all ages in the respondent’s household, and those of her four closest neighbors to make up the full sample. In the previous 18 months 54.1% (CI 53.1-55.1) and 55.8% (CI 54.8-56.8) of females in Montserrado and Nimba respectively were indicated to have experienced non-sexual domestic abuse; 19.4% (CI 18.6-20.2) and 26.0% (CI 25.1-26.9) of females in Montserrado and Nimba respectively to have been raped outside of marriage; and 72.3% (CI 70.7-73.9) and 73.8% (CI 72.0-75.7) of married or separated women in Montserrado and Nimba respectively to have experienced marital rape. Husbands and boyfriends were reported as the perpetrators of the vast majority of reported violence. Strangers were reported to account for less than 2% of the perpetrators of rape in either county. Incidents were most commonly disclosed to other family members or to friends and neighbors, and less often to formal authorities such as the police, court or community leaders. Programming needs to address the fact that this violence is primarily occurring in the household, where most incidents go unreported outside the immediate family or social circle.
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