Child Safeguarding Policy

Purpose and scope

The Cyberbullying Research Center (CRC) is committed to safeguarding the welfare of all children and young people who are the subjects of, participants in, or otherwise affected by our research, educational programming, and public communications. This policy applies to all CRC staff, contractors, research collaborators, and anyone conducting work on behalf of the CRC.

For the purposes of this policy, a child is any person under the age of 18.

Principles

The CRC recognizes that children have a right to protection from all forms of abuse, neglect, exploitation, and violence. All CRC research activities involving children will be guided by the following principles: (a) the best interests of the child are a primary consideration in all decisions; (b) children have the right to be heard and to have their views taken seriously; (c) all children have equal rights to protection regardless of their age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, religion, or any other characteristic; (d) all CRC personnel share responsibility for keeping children safe.

Research ethics and informed consent

All CRC research involving children will obtain Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval prior to data collection. Informed consent will be obtained from a parent or legal guardian before any child participates in research, and assent will be obtained from the child. Participation is voluntary, and children and their parents may withdraw at any time without penalty. Survey instruments involving sensitive topics (such as bullying, self-harm, sexual exploitation, or online harms) will include embedded mental health resource information, post-survey debriefing screens, and crisis hotline contact details.

Data protection and privacy

The CRC collects research data from children anonymously whenever possible. When anonymity is not feasible, all personally identifiable information will be stored securely, access-restricted, and destroyed when no longer needed for the research purpose. The CRC will not publish or share any information that could identify individual child participants. Data collection, storage, and processing will comply with applicable federal and state laws, including the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) where applicable.

Reporting concerns

Any CRC staff member, contractor, or collaborator who becomes aware of a concern about the safety or welfare of a child in the course of CRC activities must report it promptly to the Principal Investigators (Dr. Sameer Hinduja, [email protected] or Dr. Justin W. Patchin, [email protected]). If a child is in immediate danger, the relevant local authorities (law enforcement or child protective services) should be contacted without delay. The CRC will cooperate fully with any statutory investigation.

Personnel standards

All individuals who interact directly with children as part of CRC research activities will be vetted in accordance with applicable institutional and legal requirements. CRC personnel will receive orientation on this child safeguarding policy and on recognizing and responding to signs of abuse or exploitation.

Online safety in research

Given that the CRC’s research focuses on online harms, particular attention is paid to the digital safety of child participants. Surveys administered online will use secure, encrypted platforms. Questions about sensitive experiences will be phrased to assess exposure without requiring children to provide identifying details about specific incidents, perpetrators, or victims. The CRC will not request, collect, or store any images, videos, or other media depicting children as part of its survey-based research.

Dissemination and public communications

The CRC will not use children’s real names, images, or other identifying information in any publications, reports, blog posts, media appearances, or social media communications without explicit written consent from a parent or guardian. Aggregate data and anonymized findings will be used in all public-facing outputs.

Review and accountability

This policy will be reviewed annually by the CRC leadership team. Revisions will be made as needed to reflect changes in legal requirements, best practices, or the nature of CRC activities.