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While much has been written of late on the subject of
children and war, much more needs to be known, for instance, about the extent to which armed conflict strips away the layers of protection afforded in peacetime by family, society, government and law.
Additionally, it is important to
grasp what adverse consequences such conflicts have on
children's future development and on peace and stability for
generations to come. Our current grasp of the extent of this
problem is inadequate and it is hoped that the first phase of
the research project will improve our understanding of
multidimensional scope of the impact that armed conflict has
on children.
Note that Alcinda Honwana is leading a
"Children and Armed Conflict" project at the Social Sciences
Research Council (SSRC) http://www.ssrc.org/programs/children/
in New York that will be a stock-taking of the various
academic attempts at improving our understanding of the scale
and dimensions of this problem.
Basic Research Questions in Phase One
Some of the basic questions that need to be asked at the early
stage of our research project are:
- Who constitutes a "war affected child"? Are boys and girls differentially affected by armed conflict?
- What are the socio-cultural factors and trends in warfare that have made possible the targeting of children during armed conflicts?
- What proportion of civilians affected by war are children?
- What is the nature of their victimization? What has been the physical, economic, mental, psychosocial impact?
- What methods are used to recruit children into armed forces and/or rebel groups (abductions, enticements, threats, peer pressure, cultural sentiments, etc.)?
- To what extent is the proliferation of small arms a factor in exacerbating this problem?
- What has been the impact of landmines, drugs and the illegal trade in minerals and other natural resources on children living in war zones?
- What has been the impact of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases on children during conflicts?
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