Child soldiers how can we help

Child soldiers may be considered cheaper to recruit and train, more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse , or strategically useful — such as the girls used for the horrific suicide attacks by Boko Haram in Nigeria. Those who survive have most certainly been robbed of their innocence, their childhoods.

These children may suffer from physical, developmental and mental health conditions. Many have missed out on years of education, severely compromising their futures. And social reintegration might be difficult, as many have lost ties to family and community. Boys returning from conflict also risk rejection by their communities of origin.

We learn from former child soldiers, now adult, sharing their stories. Though not unique to the space of understanding child soldiers, men are more likely to have access to public spaces, and to academia - the capacity and permission to travel abroad, the confidence to speak publicly, to ability handover parenting and caregiver responsibilities. This is changing, as we make more and more concerted efforts to create pathways for female participation, but in large part to date, our knowledge of child soldiers has admittedly been informed by more male experiences than female.

This speaks to importance of continuing to push for gender-responsive approaches to informational collection, storytelling, learning and reflecting to find solutions to end and prevent child recruitment and use for all children.

We do know that girls can be as vulnerable to forced recruitment as boys. World Vision completed a 5 country research study to better understand the coercive continuum on which boys and girls may appear to exercise some agency in joining an armed group as well. In Colombia, Central African Republic CAR , Democratic Republic of Congo DRC , Iraq and South Sudan, both girls and boys became child soldiers for a wide range of reasons: presence of conflict and normalization of violence, access to basic needs for survival or family assistance, lack of opportunities including education, vengeance, and pressure from peers, family or community members.

Each of these reasons motivated both girls and boys. But there is a gendered dimension to reasons for recruitment. In Colombia and DRC, girls were targeted for forced recruitment for use in hostilities specifically because as females they would be less suspected of carrying out armed operations or criminal acts.

Countries with the highest rates of reported child recruitment and use, for example Somalia, also happen to be defined by a significant power imbalance between males and females, where women and girls of all ages face a devastatingly high likelihood of experiencing all forms of sexual or gender-based violence, and may have limited means to exercise agency over their own bodies and decisions in their daily lives.

Just as the circumstance of becoming associated with an armed force or group is driven by a gender dimension, so too is the experience unique for girls and boys as they exit and seek to reintegrate back into society.

Launched in March , the campaign Children, Not Soldiers is working to galvanise support to end and prevent recruitment of children by national security forces in conflict. The UN Secretary-General's report on children and armed conflict said there had been several positive moves.

That included armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the Philippines being delisted and the signing of a peace agreement in Colombia that included a special agreement on the release and reintegration of children. Efforts are being made to support the release of children in these countries to civilian life and to help reintegrate them, as well as plans to prevent future recruitment of children.

Measures are being taken around the world to prevent children becoming soldiers in the future. It is important to establish and enforce 18 as the minimum age for recruitment. The majority of states have already done this and many non-state groups have done so too. International political efforts continue to encourage all groups to do likewise.

Many child soldiers end up desensitised to violence, which can psychologically damage them. Many are traumatised by what they have been forced to do or have witnessed. Children need to undergo reintegration programmes to help them return to civilian life.

Girls face the additional difficulty of social stigma attached to the belief they have been engaged in sexual activity. It is highly important that former child soldiers with vastly different experiences are being heard, and supporting programmes must be adjusted in accordance with their specific needs. Moreover, long-term funding and a stable, sustainable approach are needed. This approach cannot solely be aimed at former child soldiers in DR Congo and Uganda - it has to take into account the circumstances and needs of children in areas such as Colombia, Syria and Yemen.

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More information Change preferences. The common image of a boy with a gun is far removed from the reality of children involved with armed groups. Support for child soldiers needs to be improved The perception of a boy with a gun in his hand or a girl who is used as a sex slave is outdated - just like many other views about child soldiers. To escape their feelings of hopelessness, they join an armed group". Misunderstandings about child soldiers Child soldiers are generally believed to come from countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

The reality is different: in countries such as Yemen , Iraq , Syria and Colombia , tens of thousands of children are recruited to join armed groups. It is often thought that child soldiers are forced to join an armed group, by abduction or as a means of revenge.