ABSTRACT
Despite growing emphasis on young people’s participation in research and policymaking, the ‘adult gaze’– adults’ views of young people – often undermine these efforts. Adults’ assumptions about young people’s capabilities can lead adults to become either under- or over-invested in projects meant to increase children’s participation – thus squeezing out young people by inadvertently reimposing their adult gaze on research that is meant to privilege young people’s perspectives. I describe how we overcame these tendencies in the Adolescents’ Perceptions of Healthy Relationships project’s peer-to-peer approach in which we trained young people as co-researchers and advocates, thereby recognising young people as experts in their shared experiences with the research subjects. Our youth-centred peer research methodology involved regular reflection for the adults so we could learn to recognise our own biases and keep young people’s concerns in the foreground. Ultimately, we learned that overcoming the adult gaze is a continual process.
