1: Why participatory approaches?

A practitioner and a boy holding a yellow flag.

A participatory approach is a way of working that meaningfully and actively involves those who are affected by the issue in decision-making. This could be in decisions surrounding the design, implementation or evaluation of a particular project or initiative, or it could relate to informing and influencing decisions related to research, policy, funding or service provision.

Participatory approaches aim to shift power from those who traditionally hold it within the respective sector (usually adult professionals with ‘learned expertise’) – so that power can be shared with those with ‘lived expertise’ of the issue.

In working in the field of childhood sexual violence, this means thinking about how we could involve, and work with, children and young people who have experienced these forms of abuse in the development of the work we do.

Why is a participatory approach important in the field of childhood sexual violence?

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (1989) articulated a set of ‘participation rights’ for children and young people under the age of 18. Many national governments have since changed laws and policies to account for the individual and collective rights that children and young people are entitled to.

Article 12 is often cited as the ‘participation’ article. Article 12 asserts that every child, who is capable of forming his or her views, has the right to express those views on all issues affecting them. It also outlines that the child’s views and perspectives should be given ‘due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child’.

Article 12 is one of the four underpinning general principles of the UNCRC and therefore key to how the Convention as a whole is interpreted and implemented.

Yet, many of the articles within the convention make up, what is collectively known as, children’s ‘participation rights’.

Children and young people who have experienced sexual violence may be impacted in a range of different ways.

Children and young people often report feeling silenced during and in the aftermath of sexual violence. They can feel a sense of powerlessness, loss of control, stigma, isolation, betrayal and hopelessness. These feelings may be exacerbated by how others treat young people once the abuse has been disclosed or identified.

Developing opportunities through participatory engagement to counter some of these feelings, and to challenge stigmatised identities, can be a powerful by-product of participating in decision-making.

Potential impacts of experiencing childhood sexual violence Opportunities that may arise through participatory engagement
Feeling silenced Having their voice heard
Powerlessness Feeling empowered through shared decision-making
Loss of control Being able to make choices and decisions for themselves, and having an opportunity to author their own narratives about their experiences
Stigma Challenging negative identities and building positive ones
Isolation Building connection through peer support and group based work
Sense of betrayal Learning to trust those they are collaborating with
Hopelessness Being involved in influencing positive change and hope for the future

Read our research findings about the potential value of participatory approaches for children and young people who have experienced sexual violence Group work as a mechanism for the collective participation of children and young people with lived experience of child sexual abuse and exploitation.

A trauma-informed approach means realising the widespread impact of trauma and recognising certain behaviours as normal reactions to abnormal experiences whilst responding sensitively in practice and policy and resisting retraumatisation.

The trauma of experiencing childhood sexual violence can manifest in a whole host of ways. It can lead to a range of diagnosable mental health conditions but can also affect young people’s wider sense of wellbeing including their emotions, behaviours and relationships. It is important therefore that any participatory work with children and young people who have had these experiences, aligns with a trauma-informed approach.

There are six key principles of a trauma-informed approach (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 2014).

 

These six principles naturally align with the nine basic requirements for enabling the child to be heard in an ethical and meaningful way (UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2009).

Throughout the Our Voices programme (and wider work of the Safer Young Lives Research Centre) children and young people have consistently told us how valuable it is to have the opportunity to connect with other young people who have had similar experiences.

Our research has pointed to four key themes that can arise when children and young people who have experienced sexual violence work together in participatory projects. It may help them to:

  • recognise that they are not the only one who has experienced abuse
  • minimise a sense of blame and shame connected to those experiences
  • understand their emotions and feelings surrounding the abuse
  • critically reflect on the topic of childhood sexual violence and its wider political and social dimensions.

Image taken from: Seeing things from both sides: A comic to help young people and professionals understand each other’s views about young survivors’ participation in efforts to address child sexual abuse and exploitation.

Read our research findings about the potential value of participatory approaches for children and young people who have experienced sexual violence Group work as a mechanism for the collective participation of children and young people with lived experience of child sexual abuse and exploitation.

Participatory approaches can ignite positive outcomes in a range of ways. Our work suggests that when children and young people with lived experience engage in this work it can:

  • Add relevance and credibility to advocacy efforts and campaigns addressing childhood sexual violence
  • Increase children and young people’s engagement and uptake of services
  • Add to the evidence base and identify under-researched areas that are a priority to those impacted
  • Contribute to challenging social norms that perpetuate childhood sexual violence and minimise the negative impacts.

Read more about our research in our Resources section.

Related Resources

Illustration: A Balancing Act: The participation of young survivors. This illustration summarises key messages from our international research study that explored the potential outcomes associated with the individual and collective participation of children and young people impacted by child sexual abuse and exploitation.

This illustration seeks to convey that participation can lead to a number of outcomes and that these may be influenced by a range of different factors.

Podcast: Progressing Participation as Protection. Listen to young people in Kenya, Uganda and the UK share their thoughts about the relationship between participation and protection rights in the context of child sexual abuse and exploitation.

Briefing: Group work as a mechanism for the collective participation of children and young people with lived experience of child sexual abuse and exploitation. Read our research findings about the potential value of participatory approaches for children and young people who have experienced sexual violence.

Reading list: Participation rights for children and young people who have experienced sexual violence. Want to know more? Check out the reading list we have compiled which includes research articles and resources that focus on this topic.