The Centre for Social Sciences Research (CSSR) and the  Institute for Democracy, Citizenship and Public Policy in Africa  (IDCPPA) at the University of Cape Town invite you to join us for a lunchtime seminar on 11 August 2026 at 12:45pm. The seminar will be presented by Jack Cagney.

About the Seminar:

Underreporting Violence Against Children: Interview Sensitivity and Correlates of Non-Disclosure.

Interviewer-administered surveys remain one of the most common approaches for measuring violence against children, yet they are known to produce lower prevalence estimates than more confidential reporting methods. While this discrepancy is often attributed to underreporting, less is known about the magnitude of underreporting during interviews and whether certain groups of children are more likely than others to remain undisclosed. Using data from the Optimus Study in South Africa, this project compares reports of violence collected through interviewer-administered questionnaires (IAQ) and self-administered questionnaires (SAQ).

The presentation first examines the performance of interviews as a data collection method by estimating the sensitivity and specificity of IAQ reports relative to confidential SAQ disclosures. Particular attention is given to "missed cases"—experiences disclosed in the SAQ that were not reported in the IAQ.

The presentation then explores factors associated with non-disclosure among children who reported violence in the SAQ. Using multilevel regression models, analyses examine if disclosures vary according to survivor characteristics (e.g., age, sex, disability, and anxiety).

Findings contribute to a growing literature on violence measurement and survey methodology and have implications for interpreting prevalence estimates derived from interviewer-administered surveys. By identifying who and what is most likely to be missed, this work aims to improve the quality of data used to inform violence prevention, policy, and support services.

Speakers

Jack Cagney is a PhD Candidate in Global Health and Development at Emory University. His research focuses on measuring the prevalence and burden of violence against children, with a particular interest in survey design and methodology. His dissertation examines the patterns and correlates of non-disclosure in population-based surveys, with the goal of improving the validity of estimates used to guide policy, intervention planning, and resource allocation.

  11 August 2026
  12:45 - 14:00 SAST
  CSSR Seminar Room, 4.29, Robert Leslie Social Sciences Building, UCT

Hosted by the Centre for Social Science Research and the Institute for Democracy, Citizenship and Public Policy in Africa