Patrick Burton provided an overview of the South African context, where only 23 per cent of children live with both parents, 55 per cent live below the poverty line, and 48.7 per cent have been exposed to violence in their community. Furthermore, 89 per cent of households in South Africa have a mobile phone, while only 21 per cent have a computer; 25 per cent of children who had a negative online experience missed school while 31 per cent reported difficulty concentrating. Media panics are resulting in tough legislation: in South Africa, sexting laws can result in lifetime registration as a sex offender, even when consensual. The use context and legal context raise questions about how research can inform interventions and potentially result in policy change. Burton explored what counts as evidence, discussing how media panics often drive policy discussion, and asked participants to consider how to use data to respond. He emphasised the importance of project evaluation when engaging in high-quality, rigorous research. A significant challenge in studying children and young people’s internet use is the current legislation that criminalises sexting and requires mandatory reporting. Burton recommends involving children and young people in the survey development process, so as to ask children and young people about what is important to them.

1. What’s
the
Problem?
Opportuni5es
and
barriers
to
(researching)
children’s
rights
in
a
digital,
global
age
Researching
Children’s
Rights
Globally
in
the
Digital
Age
London,
12
February
2015
Patrick
Burton
Centre
for
JusDce
and
Crime
PrevenDon
(CJCP)
The
South
African
Scenario

2. 2

3. Children in South Africa
— 36%
of
SA
popula5on
under
18
— 23%
of
children
live
with
both
parents
— 32%
live
in
a
household
with
no
employed
adult
— 55%
live
under
the
poverty
line
— 22%
have
experienced
violence
at
school
— 48.7%
have
been
exposed
to
violence
in
community
3 Source:CJCP 2012,Child Gauge 2014

4. ICTs in South Africa
14.5
21.4
88.9
H/H has a landline
Own a computer
H/H has a mobile phone
4 Source:Statistics South Africa,2011

5. Use of social media and ICT in SA
9.5
10
24.4
30.9
42.3
46.2
54.3
81.1
Ever use Instant Messaging through a
computer
Ever host or contribute to a website/blog
Ever participate in online chatrooms
Have your own social networking page
Ever use Instant Messaging through your
mobile phone
Ever access to the internet on your mobile
phone
Own or have access to a computer, ipad, tablet
Own or have access to a mobile phone
5 Source:CJCP,2012

6. Experiences of Online Violence
2.3
2.5
3
3.2
3.8
7.8
14
20.9
Had someone send sexually explicit images or messages about
you by using a phone or computer
Been threatened with harm or intimidated by someone online
Had someone use your account and pretend to be you by sending
messages etc and trying to ruin your reputation
Had someone share secrets or embarrassing pictures or
information about you online without your permission
Had messages sent or posted about you that were hurtful, with
the intention of damaging reputation or friendship
Had rude and insulting messages about you sent via computer or
mobile phone
Had an 'online fight' with someone where angry and rude
language was sent in a chat room or social networking page via
the computor or mobile phone
Experienced some form of online violence or aggression in
previous 12 months
Source:CJCP,2012

7. 7
78.8
59.1
53.2
46.5
31.4
30.8
24.6
24.6
21.5
20.3
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
felt angry
felt embarrassed
Felt afraid
Felt anxious
Had difficulty concentrating
Blamed myself
Missed school because of it
I cried
Felt sad & hurt
Marks dropped because of it
%
Source:CJCP,2012

8. Ê Impact
of
legisla5on
on
par5cipa5on:
Ê Criminaliza5on
of
sex5ng
Ê Mandatory
repor5ng
Ê Appropriate
measures
of
harm?
Ê Ins5tu5onalizing
data
collec5on
(ownership,
quality,
funding)
Ê What
cons5tutes
evidence?
Ê Challenge
of
research
uptake
and
advocacy
when
outside
exis5ng
policy
agenda/direc5on
Methodological
Challenges
8

9. Ê Priori5za5on
of
VAC,
including
online,
in
Government’s
Na5onal
Plan
of
Ac5on
on
VAWC
Ê (constraints
of
conceptualiza5on/language)
Ê Na5onal
epidemiological
studies
(Op5mus,
NSVS)
Ê (but
cross
sec5onal,
single
sample,
limita5ons)
Ê Poli5cal
buy-­‐in
and
support
Research
OpportuniDes
9
9
9

10. Ê What
are
the
kinds
of
online
experiences
children
consider
harmful
and
how
they
would
characterise
the
harm
they
encounter.
Ê
What
is
the
rela5onship
between
the
wider
context
of
violence,
inequality
and
poverty,
and
access
to,
and
usage
of
ICTs
and
social
media,
and
related
vulnerabili5es
a[ached
to
online
experiences?
Are
there
shared
or
mul5ple
vulnerabili5es,
or
does
vulnerability
in
one
domain
impact
on
vulnerability
in
the
other.
Ê What
is
the
most
useful
conceptual
framework
for
framing
our
understanding
of
and
research
into
children’s
use
of
ICTs,
risks
and
harms?
Research
QuesDons
10
10
1
0

11. Towards Better Understanding Young
People’s Experience
Æ More contextualized research:
Æ Unpacking risk (what is it, how does it develop, response, who’s
most at risk)
Æ Risks in different contexts – high/low violence; urban/rural;
marginalized/wealthy)
Æ Young people’s agency in developing resilience
Æ Developing reliable data systems
Æ Developing tailored interventions (not one size fits all)
11

12. www.cjcp.org.za
www.cyberbullying.org.za
patrick@cjcp.org.za