Within this project we want to learn about adolescents’ perceptions of healthy relationships. ICDI and ISS firmly believe that to combat child sexual abuse and exploitation, young people must be empowered with essential life skills for the cultivation of healthy relationships. Adolescents tend to share their ideas about and experiences of (sexual) relationships within well insulated peer groups. However, children are rarely seen as ‘experts’ on their own life circumstances, and so their input is seldom sought for the development of effective interventions.
Taking this into account, through our youth-centered peer research approach, this project aims to establish rapport with young people and penetrate these groups to learn about their knowledge, experience and ideas concerning what make healthy relationships.
Description
Results
This will build youth capacities while providing us with adolescents’ authentic perspectives on healthy relationships in Bulgaria and Tanzania. We aim to establish the broad dynamics of adolescents’ perceptions and definitions of healthy relationships – the different types, influencers, perceptions of their parents’ and peers’ attitudes, and use of media, including social media. This will build youth capacities while providing us with adolescents’ authentic perspectives on healthy relationships in Bulgaria and Tanzania.
Activities
- Introspective workshops with local partners and supervisors to prepare them to facilitate youth-centered research.
- Workshops for Youth Peer Researcher on key concepts, research principles, and data collection skills.
- Youth participatory workshops with peers, focus group discussions, and interviews to establish adolescents’ views on the importance, challenges, experiences, and impacts, as well as ideas for creating and maintaining healthy relationships.
- Dissemination and Advocacy
