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.

Adolescent girls speak about violence in their community.

Adolescent girls growing up in urban environments have been placed at increased risk for being exposed to violence in their communities. Yet few studies have examined their perceptions of the risk factors, violence, and the pressures they face on a daily basis. The present research describes two adolescent girls' perspectives concerning the challenges, fears, hopes, risks, and pressures they have experienced growing up in their community.