How can child soldiers be helped

Child Soldiers: How To Provide The Right Support

The common image of a boy with a gun is far removed from the reality of children involved with armed groups. The stereotypes surrounding ‘child soldiers’ can even serve to expose children to further harm - which is why Red Hand Day sees War Child repeat its call for a new approach to the issue…

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The perception of a boy with a gun in his hand or a girl who is used as a sex slave is outdated - just like many other views about child soldiers. Many of the programmes designed to support former child soldiers reintegrate back into society are based on stereotypes and are in fact insufficient.

War Child UK's report 'Rethink Child Soldiers' - first published in June 2019 - called for a drastic revision of the way we look at child soldiers and the funding of programmes for former child soldiers. And in 2020 its recommendations are no less urgent.

Stereotypes on former child soldiers lead to ineffective programmes that do not provide children with the support they need

Photo: Nick Hoare | War Child UK

“Many of these children are poor, anxious and abused. To escape their feelings of hopelessness, they join an armed group"

Jan de Waegemaeker, War Child's International Programmes Director

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. The fact is, however, that many children voluntarily become gang members. They often do this because they see no other way out, due to poverty and lack of work. Or because they are looking for protection, status or money.
• Many programmes for ex-child soldiers are aimed at helping ex-combatants, even though the majority of the children who once belonged to an armed group never actually carried a weapon. Most child soldiers are deployed - at least initially - as a cook, messenger or porter.

Not all child soldiers carry a gun. Most children in armed groups are used as porters, cooks or messengers.

Photo: Nick Hoare | War Child UK

“The support former child soldiers get is insufficient. Often they don't get the help they desperately need."

Former child soldier from the Central African Republic

Current interventions miss the mark

The existing stereotypes and misunderstandings about child soldiers, their origins, way of recruitment and duties as members of armed groups lead to ineffective reintegration programmes. The real causes of child soldier's recruitment are insufficiently addressed and many programmes are too short to make a difference. Also, too little is being done to help child soldiers that have not yet actively fought, to leave an armed group.

Improvements need to be made

To help former child soldiers find back their place in society, it is important that we take a close look at the context in their countries. In Iraq, for example, a former child soldier is generally seen as a threat, even after they have left an armed group. These children are often treated as perpetrators instead of victims. Many are stigmatized and therefore lead an isolated existence. For them it can be even harder to receive the right support.

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.

This is how War Child helps children deal with stigmatization during and after the war

What does War Child do?

• First of all we focus on the prevention of recruitment of child soldiers. A proven and effective way of doing this is to provide children and young people with better alternatives. For example, we provide vocational education; we teach youth a profession and learn them to fend for themselves.
• Secondly, War Child supports former child soldiers prior to and during their reintegration back into their communities. We prepare them for the labour market, help them search for jobs and a role in society - for example by creating awareness about children's rights. In addition, we help young people set up their own business, so that the financial benefits of joining an armed group evaporate.
• Moreover, we provide children with psychosocial support. For children, this is primarily aimed at rebuilding self-confidence and trust in the community; for young people, this care focuses mainly on processing traumatic experiences.

War Child Holland endorses the report 'Rethink Child Soldiers' - produced by War Child UK. Together we call on governments, donors, other NGOs and the United Nations to clear up misconceptions about former child soldiers, and to work together on sustainable funding for effective reintegration programmes.

Child Soldiers: Childhood's End | Save the Children

Peter’s* story. This former child soldier, was only 10 years old when he was forcibly recruited, armed and trained to kill by South Sudanese fighters – until he escaped two years later. Thanks to you, we’re helping Peter recover and return to learning. Uganda. *Name changed for child’s protection.

There are six UN-verified “grave violations” of children’s rights in conflict. Being recruited and used as a child soldier is one of them.^[i]

Save the Children’s Stop the War on Children report, the third in our global series, reveals shocking trends in the threats to innocent children now living and suffering in the world’s war zones:

• 149 million children – double the number of all children in the U. S^.[ii] – live in high-intensity conflict zones, areas experiencing thousands of battle-related deaths each year.
• Since 2010, there’s been a 34% rise in the number of children living in conflict-affected areas, plus a staggering 170% rise in the number of reported grave violations committed against children in conflict.
• This includes more child soldiers, as well as those more likely to be killed or maimed, abducted, sexually abused, see their schools or hospitals attacked, or have aid denied to them.
• Children in conflict are more at risk of harm now than at any time in recorded history.

Child soldiers, boys and girls as young as 8 years old, are being recruited and used not only for fighting, but for sexual exploitation and more in conflicts raging across the globe. This isn’t just a grave violation of children’s fundamental human rights – it represents the tragic end of childhood. The world’s children deserve so much better. We must stop the war on children.

Learn the facts about child soldiers.

What is the definition of a child soldier?

The official term is “a child associated with an armed force or armed group.” It refers to any boy or girl under age 18 who is recruited or used by an armed force or armed group in any capacity. It does not refer only to a child who is taking a direct part in hostilities.^[iii]

How many child soldiers are there?

It’s impossible to know how many child soldiers are associated with armed conflicts around the world. Between 2005 and 2018, a total of 65,081 children are verified to have been recruited and used by armed forces and groups, but actual numbers are likely much higher – as many as hundreds of thousands of children.[iv]

What are child soldiers forced to do?

Child soldiers are boys and girls who are often abducted and used as combatants, forced to act as human shields or conduct executions, deployed as suicide bombers, or used to make or transport explosives. Other roles include working as guards, spies, messengers, porters, cooks or domestic servants.

Many children, more often girls, are subjected to sexual abuse and exploitation, while some are forced into child marriage as “brides” for fighters. Girls forcibly married in this way are frequently abandoned, divorced or left widowed, if they’re not killed or maimed themselves.

Why are children recruited and used as child soldiers?

Throughout history, children have been recruited, often by force, and used in military campaigns. 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.

Armed groups often use gendered recruitment tactics, including a hyper-masculine ideology and imagery that equates power with violence, promises of sexual rewards and “wives” for soldiers.

What happens to former child soldiers?

While every child’s story is different, children formerly associated with armed forces or groups face many immediate and lifelong challenges. 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.

Girls in particular are likely to be stigmatized and even rejected by their community if it’s known that they‘ve been used by an armed force or armed group – and the rejection of their babies and children may be even more severe. Boys returning from conflict also risk rejection by their communities of origin.

For over 100 years, Save the Children has been singularly committed to securing children’s rights and serving their needs, giving every child the chance to grow up healthy, educated and safe.

Thanks to supporters like you, we are the global leader in child-focused humanitarian response, including protecting child soldiers and other children from the physical and emotional wounds of war, and ensuring their recovery and rehabilitation.

Learn more about our Stop the War on Children campaign – and how you can help.

**Sources: Unless otherwise noted, facts and statistics have been sourced from Save the Children’s program and monitoring and evaluation experts, as well as published reports.

***Photo credit: Lois Leeson / Save the Children.

[i] Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, 2005.

[ii] United States Census Bureau, 2018.

[iii] The Paris Principles: Principles and Guidelines on Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups, 2007.

[iv] The Paris Principles: Principles and Guidelines on Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups, 2007.

The best comes from children: how volunteers support the mobilized and their families

Many families in which fathers, sons, husbands and brothers went to the front as part of partial mobilization need help today. Someone needs to be consulted about documents and payments, someone needs psychological support, but most of their mobilized families need household assistance - to attach or walk a pet, transport things, take a child to a section, and so on. So, in Russia, such requests are collected by a hotline by phone 8 800 200 34 11, as well as an updated platform myvmeste.rf. Volunteers around the clock accept and process applications for the provision of psychological, legal, humanitarian, as well as simple household assistance to the families of the mobilized. nine0003

With the help of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia, the Ministry of Education of Russia, volunteer psychologists of the Red Cross, psychological support is provided to those in need, with the participation of the Association of Russian Lawyers, Moscow State Law University named after O. E. Kutafin and the Youth Parliament under the State Duma of the Russian Federation, legal consultations are provided on the hotline and in special chat bots. Business is engaged in humanitarian assistance, and volunteers help mobilized people and their families to solve everyday problems. So, for example, volunteers from the city of Labytnangi in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug help the mother of a mobilized man walk and feed a husky named Rocky, because the owner has problems with her legs. nine0003

“Our key area of ​​work is targeted assistance to families. Finish repairs, take the children to school, congratulate the mobilized parents on their birthday. Some duties are assigned to a man. He went to the front, and someone has to help fulfill these duties. Then families - and there are about half a million of them in the country, or a million, if together with their parents - have confidence in the future. We will launch long-term support for families, assign specific people to each in order to cover emerging needs, ”said Artem Metelev, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Youth Policy. nine0003

As the head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh) Ksenia Razuvaeva emphasized in her Telegram channel , “We are all waiting for the return of our heroes, but while they are on combat missions, volunteers are always ready to give their strong shoulder to their families and loved ones. And such help - not in word, but in deed - is really worth a lot.

Children's contribution

Today even children can support military personnel. The fighters are supported by guys from the Russian Movement of Children and Youth as part of the #MYVMESTE campaign. The guys can give a piece of warmth to the fighters by sending them small gifts made by themselves. So, children write “Good Letters” to the soldiers, compose poems and songs, make small crafts - talismans and stripes. nine0003

“Children pay great attention to the project. The guys make out their letters and messages very beautifully and with soul. Often they draw something cute, reminiscent of a house: pets, toys, cartoon characters. Also, powerful animals became one of the main characters of the letters: bears, lions, tigers - it is with them that children associate our military. They are also brave, brave and strong,” says Damir Fattakhov, deputy head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, co-chairman of the Russian Movement of Schoolchildren. "We are waiting for you at home!" is the main idea of ​​all letters. Children understand that their letter will reach a soldier they don't know, but they still believe in him and wait for his return from the front. nine0003

The soldiers themselves are very happy when they receive letters and drawings from children, they move some of our defenders to tears. During the action, our organizing committee has collected a lot of video gratitude from the soldiers, many want to see the authors of the letters after returning from the NMD. Moreover, such cases are already known, shared the details in the press service.

To date, more than 680,000 kind letters have already been written. The children came up with over 5,000 sketches of chevrons and 500 designs for a limited edition of chocolate, and wrote almost 400 original works. The soldiers will continue to receive the support of the guys, which is very important for them. nine0009 You can join the action on the website wetogether.rf in the section "MYVMESE.CHILDREN".

“Children do good deeds. They learn that even a small contribution can make a difference, especially in a cause like this. It is not always necessary to move mountains, but you can say words of support, knit warm socks, come up with a sketch for a chevron - all this will give hope. And also, it is children's support that is the strongest motivator for military personnel. Nothing can touch more than the words of a child that he supports, that he is waiting at home, ”adds Damir Fattakhov. nine0003

Help for teenagers

Participants of the All-Russian competition "Big Change" (a project of Rosmolodezh) also joined the action - in particular, representatives of regional teams, clubs and the parent community. They organized creative workshops, intellectual tournaments, championships and other thematic events for children from the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. Representatives of the Big Change community also took part in volunteer actions to collect humanitarian aid for refugees. nine0003

“At this crucial moment for the country, I think it is especially important to be united and feel ownership of everything that is happening. I am happy that I have like-minded people all over the country on this issue. The action for me is an opportunity to show indifference and help with real actions. The children of Donbass are little heroes, because they survived terrible events that even some adults cannot afford. And our servicemen are valiant followers of our grandfathers and great-grandfathers, who by their example show what patriotism is and what the Motherland means for each of us! They are the ones to look up to. We are immensely grateful to them, and the action is a small but valuable help that we can provide them,” shared her emotions Diana Galstyan, the winner of the All-Russian competition “Big Change” (a project of Rosmolodezh) and a volunteer of the #MYVMESTE action. nine0003

Another winner of the “Big Change” (project of Rosmolodezh) and volunteer of the #MYVMESTE project Natella Dyachkova joined the action in the summer of 2020, helping to take out the trash and bring food. Often this ended up looking at pictures and talking about their youth. According to Natella, the most valuable thing in this was to see the luminous eyes of pensioners, in which gratitude for attention and help burns with a bright light.

“At the end of February, we faced a situation when migrant children began to arrive on the territory of Russia. We could not stand aside, realizing that many of them face a lot of problems, especially with adaptation in a team. It is difficult for a student to move from one school to another, especially when you have experienced so much. They ask for help in mastering the school curriculum, but in the process of working with volunteers, they still discuss simple life situations. Volunteers became the first friends of the guys in what was new for them together,” the girl said about the “High Five” campaign, designed to help schoolchildren as part of the “Big Change” community. nine0003

The contestants of the “Big Change” (project of Rosmolodezh) as part of the final for high school students at the Artek ICC and college students in Nizhny Novgorod created postcards, prints, crafts made from natural materials and flipbooks for Russian servicemen, and also wrote their messages for the action " Good letters.

“Each of us has a unique opportunity to become real wizards for children who find themselves in a difficult life situation, for NWO members who protect our lives, for the elderly who do not have relatives nearby who could support them. If one person can give another a little of their love, care and support, then the world will become a happier place. The action #WETOGETHER unites the most caring people of our country, shows the unity of children and adults, the readiness to go to the end. #WETOGETHER is about people, kindness and patriotism. This is what I like about the project, which is why I am ready to go forward and support further actions so that no one is left alone!” - emphasized Natella Dyachkova. nine0003

International Award #MYVESTE is a support for social initiatives that help people. The award is held thanks to the national project "Education" .

Children have no place in war |

February 8, 2017

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Children have been and remain one of the most defenseless categories of people on the planet. However, in many of today's armed conflicts, children are seen as a cost-effective alternative to adult combatants. They are easily suggestible and are good fighters, because they do not yet understand what death is. The problem of child recruitment into the military has become so widespread that 20 years ago the UN General Assembly established the mandate of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict. nine0003

The topic will be continued by Natalia Terekhova.

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