Engaging East Harlem, New York youth in action gun violence prevention research and child rights: a preliminary study.

Background: The aim of the study was to have youth participate in the design and implementation of a research project set within a child rights framework to better understand high schoolers' perceptions of safety in their school and community.

Results: Between June 2020 and March 2021, a team of East Harlem, New York high school students, participated as co-researchers to modify the United Nations Children's Fund Child Friendly Cities Initiative Survey to suit their needs. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the final survey was conducted through an online remote classes system during advisory school classes, accompanied by brief focused group discussions.

Gun violence and the voices of youth on community safety in the time of COVID-19 in East Harlem, NY: a youth participatory action research cross-sectional study.

Background: The USA has failed to codify the protection of children from gun violence (GV) as a human right. This study employs a youth participatory action research methodology, within the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), to investigate the relationships between GV exposure, self-identified gender and perceptions of children's rights and safety.

Methods: An anonymous survey based on UNICEF USA's Child Friendly Cities Initiative interactive survey tool targeting adolescents was modified by East Harlem, New York high school student co-researchers in collaboration with near-peer graduate students.