Our Voices III (2020-2023)

In recognising the wide spectrum of experiences, knowledge and insights we want to capture in the Delphi study, one of the key groups of experts we hope to engage are those with lived experience of CSA/E. In thinking about what we need to consider when involving 'experts by experience’, we consulted with our Young Researchers’ Advisory Panel (YRAP) to garner their thoughts and advice.

As part of the Our Voices III project, we are developing the 'Our Voices University Network: challenging sexual violence against children and youth' (OVUN). The OVUN is a global network of researchers committed to ethical, child-centred research to improve identification, prevention and response efforts for children and young people affected by child sexual violence. In this blog, you can hear what we've been up to so far, meet the leadership team, hear what our next steps are and how you can get involved.  

As part of the Our Voices III project, the team at the International Centre (IC) are undertaking a Delphi study to develop consensus on whether and how a participatory approach may add value to efforts to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSA/E). One of the first design decisions in setting up a Delphi study is to determine who has expertise on the topic under investigation. To help us consider this, we asked the IC’s Young Researchers’ Advisory Panel (YRAP) to share their perspectives on the groups of people they think are significant to young people affected by CSA/E. This blog, the first of two, shares some of the conversations and reflections that emerged from these discussions.

The International Centre: Researching child sexual exploitation, violence and trafficking (IC) has been awarded a three-year grant from the Oak Foundation to coordinate the ‘Our Voices III’ project. This project builds on earlier work funded by Oak Foundation and Tides Foundation and involves a number of activities that aim to reduce child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSA/E) and improve responses by developing, evidencing and championing, ethical child-centred practice and research. One strand of this work includes the implementation of a study using the Delphi technique. In this blog Claire Cody, who will be leading on the Delphi study, outlines what a Delphi is and why the team are undertaking one.