Stakeholder's Monitoring Interventions and Online Child Abuse among Primary School Children in Langata Subcounty, Kenya

Abstract

Children spend time online yet this is associated with risks and opportunities. The objective of this study was to examine monitoring interventions applied to online child abuse among children in primary schools in Langata sub-county, adopting a cross-sectional descriptive research design that adopted a concurrent mixed methods approach. This study targeted 423 children, 9-17 years from private and public primary schools, teachers, parents, and policymakers within the DCS and DCI. KIIs were also carried out targeting 9 parents, 9 Key informant teacher respondents, 2 Key informant Child protection officer respondents. Simple random, stratified purposive, stratified, convenience and purposive sampling designs were utilised. The study employed interview guides, questionnaires, and FGD (5) schedules to collect data. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics with the help of SPSS version 22. Bivariate statistics were applied to examine relationships between the independent and dependent variables and findings presented using graphs, frequencies and tables. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis utilising Nvivo version 12, presented in narratives. The study revealed stakeholders intervened through monitoring using filters and other ways. Hypotheses resulting in a .258 alpha .05 chi-square test p-value showed no significant relationship between a child's gender and online abuse exposure. A t-testing at .000 p-value alpha .05 showed an association between school type and online child exposure. Researchers concluded online child protection was each stakeholder’s responsibility to be addressed using a multi-level approach. The study recommended stakeholders to work in collaboration, draft guidelines, and policies on online child protection issues.