Within the framework of the TRACeD project and with the aim to establish a clear evidence-based groundwork on the training needs of the target groups in Greece, Cyprus, Italy and Slovenia, a research plan was designed including 80 interviews with children, adolescent girls and students, as well as 36 focus groups with parents, teachers and professionals.
Top research findings
→ Children are not trained in schools on cyberviolence and on ways to protect themselves. Many female participants are afraid of criticism, in the case of sharing cyberviolence sexual incidents with their parents, friends or public authorities. Also, children expressed frustration on not knowing how to help survivors of cyberviolence.
→ Parents underline that protecting minors from cyberviolence is challenging, because children often appear to be more skilled in using technology, compared to them. Although, parents recognize the necessity of supervising their children’s online activity, the use of parental control varies. Some parents consider parental control measures harmful to their relationship with their children. Nonetheless, most parents agreed that they have monitored their children’s online activity at least once.
→ Teachers share concerns on overstepping their authority, when it comes to helping students dealing with cyberviolence. Furthermore, they express the need to enhance their own digital skills and highlight the inadequacy of measures applied within schools and the necessity to implement common guidelines and protocols.
→ Professionals working with girls and young women state that specialized counselling services for students should be integrated in schools, to support survivors of cyberviolence incidents. Also, they shared concerns on the high prevalence of impunity from authorities.
Conclusion
The main conclusion of this research, carried out between June and August 2022, is the undeniable need for training of all the target groups, particularly parents, teachers, and children.
“Funded by the European Union, the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV-2021-DAPHNE). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.”