Facts and Psychological Impact About Child Soldiers

Hello friends,im sending this article for you to go through because i feel you should be informed about what is going on in our society and our world most especially.

A Child soldier is any person under the age of 18 who is a member of or attached to government armed forces or any other regular or irregular armed force or armed political group,whether or not an armed conflict exists. Child soldiers perform a range of tasks including participation in combat, laying mines and explosives; scouting, spying, acting as decoys,couriers or guards; training, drill or other preparations; logistics and support functions, portering, cooking and domestic labour; and sexual slavery or other recruitment for sexual purposes.

 Hundreds of thousands of children are conscripted, kidnapped, or pressured into

joining armed groups. The proliferation of lightweight weapons has made it possible for children under the age of 10 years to become effective soldiers. Compared to

earlier weapons, which required strong physical force to be an effective fighter, this

is a notable change in technology that has allowed recruiting children as a new class

of fighters, which is a defining characteristic of the ‘new wars.’ The trend in using

children in armed conflict as soldiers is not diminishing. An estimated 300,000 child

soldiers – boys and girls under the age of 18 – are involved currently in more than

30 conflicts worldwide (Child Soldier, 2001; Jayawardena, 2001)

The Psychological Impact of Child Soldiering

Children have no or limited access to information concerning the consequences of

their choice; they neither control nor fully comprehend the structures and forces

that they are dealing with.

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Children have little knowledge and understanding of the mid- and long-term

consequences of their actions.

•

Children might be told and believe that they have to ‘stand up’ against an enemy,

who would otherwise kill them or hurt their families; they tend to trust and obey

caretakers’ and families’ or key community leaders’ judgement on this.

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Children might believe that they have to take the place of a family member, who

would otherwise be enlisted, or to avenge a family member, who has been killed

by the ‘enemy,’ which might constitute a emotionally perceived life-threat for the

child.

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Conditions of civil war and armed conflict undermine the ability of families and

communities to protect the young of both sexes (Druba, 2002); parents might

then be driven to give in to the powerful influence of militia leaders of their own

ethnic group. Enlistment on the part of the parents or caretakers can never be

considered ‘voluntary’ on part of the child.

 Look at these Facts:

1. Child soldiers are any children under the age of 18 who are recruited by a state or non-state armed group and used as fighters, cooks, suicide bombers, human shields, messengers, spies, or for sexual purposes.
2. In the last 15 years, the use of child soldiers has spread to almost every region of the world and every armed conflict. Though an exact number is impossible to define, thousands of child soldiers are illegally serving in armed conflict around the world.
3. Some children are under the age of 10 when they are forced to serve.
4. Two-thirds of states confirm that enrollment of soldiers under the age of 18 should be banned to prohibit forced child soldiers, as well as 16- and 17-year-old armed force volunteers.
5. Children who are poor, displaced from their families, have limited access to education, or live in a combat zone are more likely to be forcibly recruited.

Written by Elisabeth Schauer