They are often abducted from their own homes, tortured, indoctrinated with brutality, forced to become intoxicated with mind-altering drugs, threatened with death and or dismemberment if they do not fight, forced to return to their own village to witness or participate in the death or disfigurement of their own family ...
Children become part of an armed force or group for various reasons. Some are abducted, threatened, coerced or manipulated by armed actors. Others are driven by poverty, compelled to generate income for their families. Still others associate themselves for survival or to protect their communities.
Those former child soldiers that suffer from PTSD will likely suffer from depression and anxiety. Increased stress levels and the consumption of alcohol and drugs increase the chance of experiencing dissociation. In addition, former child soldiers routinely have to face with social stigma.
Regardless of how children are recruited and of their roles, child soldiers are victims, whose participation in conflict bears serious implications for their physical and emotional well-being. They are commonly subject to abuse and most of them witness death, killing, and sexual violence.
Child war survivors have to cope with repeated and thus cumulative effects of traumatic stress, exposure to combat, shelling and other life-threatening events, acts of abuse, such as tor- ture or rape, violent death of a parent or friend, witnessing family members being tortured or injured, separation from family, ...
It is noteworthy that the majority of studies suggest that approximately every third former child soldier has clinical symptoms of PTSD after release from captivity.
Among war-affected children, child soldiers are more likely to endure harsher psychological consequences, such as PTSD, major depression, hostility, sadness, self-confidence and inability to cope with daily life.
Children become soldiers in different ways. Some are forcibly recruited. They may be abducted, threatened or coerced into joining, while others are enticed with money, drugs or in other ways. In many cases, children choose to join as a result of economic or social pressures.
Not surprisingly, those who committed extreme acts of violence, or were its victims, tend to suffer the most persistent mental health problems and need the most intensive care. Frequently, these children have difficulty with community relationships after their release. They struggle with guilt and shame.
It is a commonly held belief that the majority of child soldiers are children who have been abducted or violently forced into armed conflict. While this can be true, it is more often circumstantial factors that leave a child with no choice but to join a militarized faction.
People often experience trauma during war. Over time, this can develop into a condition we now recognise as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Sufferers can experience severe anxiety, flashbacks, nightmares, insomnia and anger, amongst other symptoms.
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.
These could include household poverty, unemployment, hunger, tribalism, the need to seek refuge, mistreatment at home by the police or other armed groups, or the desire to seek vengeance. Pull factors are rewards or incentives that children know they'll receive by joining an armed group.
They are often abducted from their own homes, tortured, indoctrinated with brutality, forced to become intoxicated with mind-altering drugs, threatened with death and or dismemberment if they do not fight, forced to return to their own village to witness or participate in the death or disfigurement of their own family ...
Momčilo Gavrić (Serbian Cyrillic: Момчило Гаврић; 1 May 1906 – 28 April 1993) was the youngest Serbian soldier; he became a soldier at the age of eight.
They administer these drugs either in training or before the children enter into battle. The most prominently used drug by these soldiers has been marijuana; however, many take heroin, methamphetamines, tranquilizers, etc., depending on the availability of the drugs in their region.
Because of being children, child soldiers are necessarily faultless of any action committed during armed conflict as they are, by definition, incapable of understanding the consequences of their actions, and too immature to consent to the acts that they commit.
In a separate study in Africa, 60 percent were 14 and under. Another study in Uganda found the average age to be 12.9. Indeed, many child soldiers are recruited so young that they do not even know how old they are. As one boy from Sierra Leone, thought to have been 7 or 8 when he was taken, tells, "We just fought.
How widespread is the use of child soldiers? Approximately 300,000 children are believed to be combatants in some thirty conflicts worldwide. Nearly half a million additional children serve in armies not currently at war, such that 40 percent of the world's armed organizations have children in their ranks.
Age limits
Army: 17 - 35. Coast Guard: 17 - 31. Marine Corps: 17 - 28. Navy: 17 - 39.
Many active-duty Soldiers are parents with children, whether they're on or off base.
Poverty, lack of basic necessities and economic factors
For child soldiers, personal financial or familial economic situations rank high as a reason to join.
When you serve in the military, you may be exposed to different traumatic events than civilians. The war you served in may also affect your risk because of the types of trauma that were common. War zone deployment, training accidents and military sexual trauma (or, MST) may lead to PTSD.
People with wounded inner children can often experience persistent and chronic feelings of emptiness, helplessness and hopelessness. They might feel that they are existing as a false self and that their life lacks a sense of aliveness or spontaneity. They might also feel deeply disconnected from others.
UNICEF's reintegration program for former child soldiers is critically underfunded. Around the world, UNICEF has helped more than 8,700 children released from armed groups readjust to civilian life and find their families since 2017.