Involving children and young people in research on domestic violence and housing: re-visited

ABSTRACT

Children’s and young people’s opinions and experiences are important to listen to, as they offer perspectives that adults might not be aware of otherwise. Yet children are often viewed as a vulnerable group in need of protection, with adults talking for them instead of letting them speak for themselves. Sometimes this might be the correct decision. However, it is also important to let children and young people participate in research on their own terms, to identify, for example, what kind of support they might need in relation to problems they have experienced. Based on previous research, we revisit this topic and discuss it’s relevance today, once again asking the question of how best to involve children in research in order to hear their views and opinions on matters that concern them. We base our experiences on a research project examining what sheltered housing means for children living there.

KEYWORDS:

• Children
• young people
• gatekeepers
• violence
• domestic violence shelters

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to all the children and mothers for sharing their experiences with us and thank the children for sharing and letting us use their paintings.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The present study was funded by Stiftelsen Allmänna Barnhuset (Dnr. 2020-285). The funder was not involved in the analysis, or the conclusions drawn in the study, the text written is that of the authors.