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Patrick Burton

@patrickburtonsa

๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ researcher. child online protection, child rights, VAC & VAW, violence prevention. consultant @UNICEF Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Pacific Isles and others.

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27.07.2025
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Latest posts by Patrick Burton @patrickburtonsa

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Children didnโ€™t choose to grow up in a digital world designed to exploit them. 5 years after GC25 affirmed their rights in the digital world, we join 55+ organizations calling on leaders to enforce rights-respecting, age-appropriate design.

5rightsfoundation.com/resource/unc...

02.03.2026 12:58 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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โ€˜Iโ€™ve lost my friendsโ€™: advocacy groups warn Australiaโ€™s social media ban risks isolating kids with disabilities Despite the banโ€™s aim to protect young people, experts are concerned that those in marginalised communities or living with disabilities could lose vital support networks

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

The impacts of locking under 16 yos from their social media networks are now beginning to bite for those young people who relied on them for social connection

07.02.2026 03:38 ๐Ÿ‘ 530 ๐Ÿ” 231 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 29 ๐Ÿ“Œ 128
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Royal Colleges of Physicians and General Practitioners join the X exodusโ€”why medical leaders are refusing to tweet A series of medical royal colleges are stepping back from Elon Muskโ€™s social media platform X after issues of abuse and hatred. Three have left, and two more are reviewing their activity. Chris Stokel...

A lot of you resonated with this post about my choice to leave Twitter (thanks!). Now, I've spoken with @stokel.bsky.social for a British Medical Journal article about Royal Colleges and institutions leaving X. My thoughts here: www.bmj.com/content/392/...

05.02.2026 12:13 ๐Ÿ‘ 8 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

This this THIS! Social media bans might (?) be well-intentioned, but are completely missing the root and nature of the issue, and will likely leave young people even less equipped to deal with what they encounter online.

28.01.2026 12:26 ๐Ÿ‘ 0 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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@sonialivingstone.bsky.social spoke at the International Meeting on childrenโ€™s rights & #AI:

โ€œWe must move beyond safety-by-design & privacy-by-design to embrace #ChildRights by Design.โ€

๐Ÿ“œ Declaration of Intent presented to #PopeLeo XIV: lnkd.in/d__K65y7

#ChildRights #DigitalSafety #ChildDignity

02.12.2025 16:15 ๐Ÿ‘ 8 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry | ACAMH Pediatric Journal | Wiley Online Library Background Examining resilience to adversity across multiple behavioral domains (e.g., psychological well-being, social functioning) can better characterize positive development and inform novel pre...

In this #OpenAccess paper, Jessica Bezek et al. investigate unique profiles of resilience in a relatively large sample of adolescents exposed to moderate to severe neighborhood disadvantage.

Read the full paper to learn more! https://bit.ly/3L7Mkn1

01.12.2025 15:50 ๐Ÿ‘ 3 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
World Childrenโ€™s Day: digital futures for children | LSE Event
World Childrenโ€™s Day: digital futures for children | LSE Event YouTube video by LSE

๐Ÿฆ๐Ÿ“ฑ Children face new risks onlineโ€”and new opportunities. Our #WorldChildrensDay panel explored whatโ€™s working, whatโ€™s not, and whatโ€™s urgently needed to protect their rights in digital spaces.

๐ŸŽฅ Watch: youtu.be/UuVKWzdBcL8

๐ŸŽง Listen: www.lse.ac.uk/lse-player?i...

@sonialivingstone.bsky.social

27.11.2025 16:37 ๐Ÿ‘ 4 ๐Ÿ” 3 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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27.11.2025 16:27 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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What actions are necessary to work effectively at the intersections of violence against women and violence against children? Read more of the #ChildGauge2025 recommendations in the full research publication or the policy brief: bit.ly/4oqDxv4 #EndViolence #16Days

27.11.2025 16:26 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

What a valuable read for parents and young people all around the world. The Digital Abstinence Movement will come knocking. Best to start thinking how to preserve your data and social ties before they're taken away.

27.11.2025 07:58 ๐Ÿ‘ 7 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Challenge to Australia social media ban for U-16s: rather than the ban, โ€œbring us into safer spaces, with rules that work: ageโ€‘appropriate features, privacyโ€‘first age assurance, and fast takedowns.โ€

27.11.2025 08:04 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

More seriously, looks like young people in Australia know how to read bona fide scientific research and are keen to exercise their internationally recognised human rights... Instead of silly abstinence, let's use science to make the internet an empowering place!

27.11.2025 06:53 ๐Ÿ‘ 9 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Couldn't be a more timely launch of this #DigitalFutures4Children report later today as childrenโ€™s rights come under increasing pressure in the digital environment (and indeed, everywhere). Looking forward to catching it online! www.lse.ac.uk/events/digit... @5rightsfound.bsky.social #ChildRights

20.11.2025 13:43 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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๐Ÿ“Œ๐Ÿ“„ In case you missed it: Our Child Gauge 2025 poster. It explains key concepts & levers for change to #EndViolence against women & children. It also sets out recommendations for strengthening systems. Break the silos. Break the cycle. Keen to read more about this? ๐Ÿ”— bit.ly/4oqDxv4
#ChildGauge2025

14.11.2025 07:25 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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ANALYSIS | Beyond punishment: Systematic solutions to end school violence | News24 Schools must transition from being environments that potentially reinforce violence into powerful platforms that disrupt it, writes Patrick Burton.

I wrote something! โ€œIt is past time to move beyond campaigns to raise awareness of these forms of (school) violence, as important as they are to draw attention to the problem.โ€ #safeschools #endviolence @childrensinstitute.bsky.social www.news24.com/opinions/ana...

14.11.2025 07:20 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Now underway: Launch of SA #ChildGauge2025. The focus of this year's edition is intersections of violence against women and children. Key findings are presented by @lucycpt.bsky.social (editor, Senior Researcher Children's Institute) & Prof Shanaaz Mathews (editor, UCT Health Sciences) #EndViolence

04.11.2025 14:47 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Launching Tuesday 4 Nov ๐Ÿ“—๐Ÿ“Š โ€˜South African Child Gauge 2025 Intersections of violence against women and children: Disrupting intergenerational harm.โ€™ Tomorrow we release our new research publication #ChildGauge2025, its policy brief and an easy-to-read poster summary of findings & recommendations.

03.11.2025 04:19 ๐Ÿ‘ 3 ๐Ÿ” 3 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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๐ŸŽฎ Gaming offers huge opportunities for kids - but also serious risks.

๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง New research from the Digital Futures for Children centre (DFC) maps how the gaming ecosystem shapes childrenโ€™s experiences in Brazil and the UK.

๐Ÿ”— https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/130029/

#ChildRights #Gaming

04.11.2025 06:32 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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At my first event in South Africa for a few years (6!),the launch of the @childrensinstitute.bsky.social Child Gauge 2025, on the Intersections between violence against women and children (I wrote the chapter on schools!). Lovely to see some old friends.

04.11.2025 14:11 ๐Ÿ‘ 4 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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A chatbot for the soul: mental health care, privacy, and intimacy in AI-based conversational agents - Communication and Change Artificial intelligence-based conversational agentsโ€”chatbotsโ€”are increasingly integrated into telehealth platforms, employee wellness programs, and mobile applications to address structural gaps in me...

๐ŸšจNEW PAPER ALERT ๐Ÿšจ @tamigraph.bsky.social @briana-v.bsky.social and I discuss wellness chatbots, their labor implications, & "private vibes" vs "privacy". We call for critical human-AI communication scholarship that takes into account context & political economy: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

29.10.2025 13:34 ๐Ÿ‘ 37 ๐Ÿ” 16 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Denmark Makes History: Your Face and Voice Are Now Your Intellectual Property Europe's First Digital Identity Protection Law Tackles the Deepfake Crisis Denmark is poised to become the first European nation to grant citizens copyright control over their own faces, voices, and ...

www.myprivacy.blog/denmark-make...

02.09.2025 00:11 ๐Ÿ‘ 6368 ๐Ÿ” 1612 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 86 ๐Ÿ“Œ 171
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โ€˜I can see it in your faceโ€™: the perils of age verification online As the UKโ€™s Online Safety Act begins to be implemented, some well-established critical questions are arising once again. Will we ever be able to prevent children accessing material that we deem to โ€ฆ

'I can see it in your face': the perils of age verification online davidbuckingham.net/2025/08/01/i...

01.08.2025 15:26 ๐Ÿ‘ 6 ๐Ÿ” 4 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 2
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โš ๏ธ Child Rights Impact Assessment: A Policy Tool for a Rightsโ€Respecting Digital Environment - just published o/a by @Livingstone_S @Kruakae_Noony #DigitalFutures4Children
@5RightsFound @MediaLSE #CRIA #DigitalEnvironment #ChildRights #GeneralComment25

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

01.08.2025 07:16 ๐Ÿ‘ 8 ๐Ÿ” 5 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 1