Reflection on methodologies and prioritizing children’s perspectives on protection needs within informal urban settings

ABSTRACT

Younger children in urban settings are predisposed to numerous risks, yet their ‘voices’ remain underrepresented in research making them unheard and invisible. The paucity of methods that encourage children’s direct participation in studies from such settings, in effect, limits exploration of their ability to engage meaningfully in voicing their lived experiences and potentially informing protection interventions that target them. This paper draws from a study carried out in Kenya and South Africa, which in part sought children’s perspectives on their lived experiences within their urban environment. Qualitative methods utilized in data collection included drawing, telling and conversations. The findings highlight risk exposures children contend with, which have an implication on child protection, safe spaces, mobility of children in urban areas, creating child-friendly neighbourhoods, policies and methodological approaches that intensify younger children’s ‘voices’, in highlighting lived experiences.

KEYWORDS:

• Children
• voices
• urban spaces
• experiences
• qualitative methods
• protection needs

Acknowledgments

Gratitude goes to all child participants, teachers and research assistants for their cooperation and time in this study; Dr. Godfrey Nyaoga Ayaga and Prof. Job Obiri of MMUST for logistical support; Mildren Lang’o of RTI Kenya and Lebogang Ramalepe of the University of Johannesburg for data collection and processing; and the local leaders of urban communities that host study sites.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Linet Imbosa Muhati-Nyakundi

Linet Imbosa Muhati-Nyakundi is a Senior Research Associate in the Department of Psychology at the University of Johannesburg South Africa. Her research interests include early childhood development in difficult contexts; safety and protection; resilience nurturing; drug use, misuse and abuse; 4IR and human development; orphans and vulnerable children, HIV/AIDS, creativity in research and educational pedagogy.