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LittleRainbowRights

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Child and LGBTQ+ Digital Rights Research

Analyzing digital protections for vulnerable populations through human rights document analysis

🔌 Access via REST API

NEW: Programmatic data access now available!

import requests
response = requests.get("http://localhost:5000/api/scorecard/Kenya")
data = response.json()["data"]

API Documentation

About This Project

LittleRainbowRights is a focused research initiative within the broader GRIMdata framework, specifically examining:

  • Child digital rights - Online safety, age verification, data protection for minors
  • LGBTQ+ digital rights - Legal protections, online discrimination, privacy concerns
  • Intersectional analysis - How policies affect vulnerable youth who are also LGBTQ+

This project uses the DigitalChild pipeline to scrape, process, and analyze human rights documents from international organizations, tracking how well countries protect children and LGBTQ+ individuals in digital spaces.

Key Findings

  • 194 Countries Tracked

    Comprehensive global coverage of digital rights indicators

  • 10 Indicators

    AI Policy, Data Protection, LGBTQ+ Legal Status, Child Protection, and more

  • Critical Gaps Identified

    Many countries lack specific child online protection frameworks

  • Best Practices

    Leading countries demonstrate comprehensive approaches

Scorecard Overview

The LittleRainbowRights scorecard tracks these key indicators:

Data Protection & Privacy

  1. Data Protection Law - Comprehensive data protection legislation governing personal data processing
  2. DPA Independence - Data Protection Authority operates independently from executive control
  3. Children's Data Safeguards - Child-specific data governance safeguards in binding law (not general child welfare)
  4. SOGI Sensitive Data - Sexual orientation and gender identity recognized as sensitive personal data

Child Protection

  1. Child Online Protection Strategy - National COP framework addressing online harms; may include parental tools/rights

LGBTQ+ Rights

  1. LGBTQ+ Legal Status - Legal recognition and protection of LGBTQ+ individuals
  2. LGBTQ+ Promotion/Propaganda Offences - Laws restricting discussion or advocacy of LGBTQ+ identities

Emerging Technologies

  1. AI Policy Status - National AI strategy or framework adoption
  2. DPIA Required for High-Risk AI - Data Protection Impact Assessments required for high-risk AI systems

Digital Identification

  1. SIM Card Biometric ID Linkage - Requirement to provide biometric data when registering SIM cards

View Scorecard

Regional Analysis

Africa

  • Strengths: Growing AI policy adoption, strong regional frameworks (AU)
  • Challenges: Limited LGBTQ+ protections, gaps in child online safety
  • Leaders: South Africa (comprehensive data protection and some LGBTQ+ rights)

Americas

  • Strengths: Some countries with comprehensive frameworks
  • Challenges: Regional variation, enforcement gaps
  • Leaders: Canada, Uruguay (strong data protection and LGBTQ+ rights)

Asia-Pacific

  • Strengths: Technology leadership in some countries
  • Challenges: Wide variation in human rights protections
  • Leaders: Australia, New Zealand (comprehensive frameworks)

Europe

  • Strengths: GDPR, strong data protection, LGBTQ+ rights in many countries
  • Challenges: Implementation consistency
  • Leaders: Nordic countries, Netherlands, Spain

Middle East

  • Strengths: Emerging AI policies
  • Challenges: LGBTQ+ criminalization, limited digital rights frameworks
  • Note: Significant human rights concerns in many countries

Data Sources

All data sourced from authoritative international organizations:

  • UNESCO - AI policy observatory
  • UNCTAD - Data protection legislation tracking
  • ILGA World - LGBTQ+ legal status (State-Sponsored Homophobia report)
  • UNICEF - Child protection measures
  • ITU - Telecom and internet regulations
  • Privacy International - Surveillance and privacy tracking
  • Human Rights Watch - Human rights monitoring

Total: 2,543 validated source URLs ensuring transparency and verification.

Key Publications

Research Output

Publications using LittleRainbowRights data will be listed here as they become available.

How to Use This Data

For Researchers

Via REST API (Recommended):

import requests

# Get all scorecard data
response = requests.get("http://localhost:5000/api/scorecard")
countries = response.json()["data"]["items"]

# Filter for specific country
response = requests.get("http://localhost:5000/api/scorecard/Kenya")
kenya_data = response.json()["data"]
print(kenya_data["indicators"])

# Get documents filtered by tags
response = requests.get("http://localhost:5000/api/documents?tags=ChildRights,LGBTQ")
documents = response.json()["data"]["items"]

# Filter by region
response = requests.get("http://localhost:5000/api/scorecard?region=Africa&per_page=50")
african_countries = response.json()["data"]["items"]

See API Documentation for all endpoints and filtering options.

Via Direct File Access:

# Load scorecard data
import pandas as pd

df = pd.read_excel('scorecard_main.xlsx', sheet_name='Indicators')

# Filter for child protection analysis
child_protection = df[['Country', 'Region', 'Child_Online_Protection', 'Age_Verification']]

# Analyze LGBTQ+ protections
lgbtq_analysis = df[['Country', 'LGBTQ_Legal_Status', 'Promotion_Propaganda']]

# Regional aggregations
regional_summary = df.groupby('Region').agg({
    'AI_Policy_Status': lambda x: (x != 'No Policy').sum(),
    'Data_Protection_Law': lambda x: (x == 'Comprehensive Law').sum(),
    'Child_Online_Protection': lambda x: (x == 'Comprehensive Framework').sum()
})

Installation Guide | Quick Start

For Advocates

Use the data to:

  • Build evidence-based campaigns - Cite specific country policies and gaps
  • Track policy changes - Monitor improvements or regressions over time
  • Compare approaches - Identify best practices from leading countries
  • Support litigation - Evidence for human rights cases

For Policy Makers

Insights for:

  • Benchmarking - Compare your country's policies against regional peers
  • Policy design - Learn from comprehensive frameworks in other countries
  • Gap analysis - Identify missing protections in your jurisdiction
  • International cooperation - Coordinate with countries facing similar challenges

Interactive Tools

  • Scorecard Visualization

    Interactive charts showing indicators across countries

    View Scorecard

  • Data Explorer

    Filter and search through all indicators

    Search Data

  • Export Data

    Download CSV files for your own analysis

    Get Data

  • Use the Pipeline

    Run the analysis yourself on your own machine

    Quick Start

Contributing

Found an error in the scorecard data? Have updated information?

  1. Check the source - Verify the current value and source URL
  2. Report - Open GitHub Issue with details
  3. Provide evidence - Include authoritative source URL
  4. Track update - Follow the issue for confirmation

Contributing Guidelines

Citing This Work

When using LittleRainbowRights data:

@misc{littlerainbowrights2025,
  title = {LittleRainbowRights: Child and LGBTQ+ Digital Rights Scorecard},
  author = {Vollmer, S.C.},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {\url{https://grimdata.org/projects/littlerainbowrights/}},
  note = {Licensed under CC BY 4.0. ORCID: 0000-0002-3359-2810}
}

Or:

Vollmer, D.T., & Vollmer, S.C. (2025). LittleRainbowRights: Child and LGBTQ+ Digital Rights Scorecard. Available at: https://grimdata.org/projects/littlerainbowrights/ Licensed under CC BY 4.0. ORCID: 0000-0002-3359-2810 (S.C. Vollmer)

Full Citation Guide

Data Governance

This project follows strict ethical guidelines:

  • Publicly available sources only - No confidential or leaked documents
  • Transparent methodology - All processing steps documented
  • Source attribution - Every data point linked to authoritative source
  • Regular validation - Automated checking of 2,543 source URLs
  • Community review - Open to corrections and updates

Read Full Data Governance Policy

Support This Work

  • ⭐ Star the repository
  • 📢 Share with researchers and advocates
  • 🐛 Report data quality issues
  • 💻 Contribute code or documentation
  • 📝 Cite in your publications

Contact

LittleRainbowRights is part of the GRIMdata (Global Rights Information Monitoring) initiative.

Mission: Protect vulnerable populations in the digital age through evidence-based research and advocacy.