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.
Human rights law declares 18 as the minimum legal age for recruitment and use of children in hostilities. Recruiting and using children under the age of 15 as soldiers is prohibited under international humanitarian law – treaty and custom – and is defined as a war crime by the International Criminal Court.
According to the study authors, former child soldiers may face rejection from family and their communities, along with physical injuries and psychological trauma. Previous studies have found former child soldiers have high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression.
Armed conflict destroys the basic necessities of life: schools, health care, adequate shelter, water and food. That makes it difficult for communities to give children an environment that fosters healthy cognitive and social development. Disrupted family relationships.
Thousands of boys and girls are used as soldiers, cooks, spies and more in armed conflicts around the world. Thousands of children are recruited and used in armed conflicts across the world.
Once recruited, many are brainwashed, trained, given drugs and then sent into battle with orders to kill. There is no escape for what the United Nations and human rights groups estimate are 250,000 child soldiers today. These children, some as young as 8, become fighters, sex slaves, spies and even human shields.
Whoever violates, or attempts or conspires to violate, subsection (a) shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both and, if death of any person results, shall be fined under this title and imprisoned for any term of years or for life.
Children in military families experience high rates of mental health, trauma and related problems. Military life can be a source of psychological stress for children. Multiple deployments, frequent moves and having a parent injured or die is a reality for many children in military families.
The most commonly reported traumatic experiences were having witnessed shooting (92.9%), having witnessed somebody being wounded (89.9%), and having been seriously beaten (84%). A total of 54% of the children reported having killed someone, and 28% reported that they were forced to engage in sexual contact.
The phenomenon is real.
Scientists have known for a long time that an increased number of boys are born during and after major wars. The phenomenon was first noticed in 1954 with regard to white children born during World War II in the United States.
In reality the risks to children in armed groups is huge, and the after-effects can last a lifetime. Even if children are released or escape, they may find their families have been killed in conflict—or sometimes the children are rejected by their own communities, especially girls who have had babies with soldiers.
In an International Armed Conflict, child soldiers are entitled to be treated as prisoners of war, but with the special status given to children (this is in fact a good thing, in that it gives them a status and protection to a particular standard).
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.
Sure, there are positive aspects of growing up as military brats. But they can, in many ways, be hurt as well as improved by their experiences. Military life can be incredibly hard, and our military kids often feel the effects of the separations and the relocations.
Because children are often physically vulnerable, easily intimidated, and susceptible to psychological manipulation, they typically make obedient soldiers. As part of their training for violence, child recruits are often subject to grueling physical tasks as well as ideological indoctrination.
Rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution and marriage, in addition to general violence and physical mutilation, are typical weapons employed against female child soldiers worldwide. The use of female child soldiers also has significant public health implications.
Problems with sleeping, eating, anger, and attention
Some of the symptoms of trauma in children (and adults) closely mimic depression, including too much or too little sleep, loss of appetite or overeating, unexplained irritability and anger, and problems focusing on projects, school work, and conversation.
In former child soldiers, a PTSD rate of 32% was remarkably higher than that for non-abductees (12%). Especially in girls rates of potential depression were double those in the group of former abductees (17%) than in the group of non-abductees (8%). In all groups, trauma exposure increased the risk of developing PTSD.
Thousands of children are serving as soldiers in armed conflicts around the world. These boys and girls, some as young as 8 years old, serve in government forces and armed opposition groups. They may fight on the front lines, participate in suicide missions, and act as spies, messengers, or lookouts.
Unmarried biological, step-children and adopted children are eligible for TRICARE until age 21 (or 23 if in college, see "College Students" below). Eligibility may extend beyond these age limits if he or she is severely disabled.
The term “military family syndrome” first came into use after the Vietnam War to describe the behavioral and psychosocial problems of children of deployed parents, as well as the effects of deployment on the relationship between the child and the parent remaining at home [4].
The military moves its troops on a regular basis because they need a certain number of people at different bases for operations, missions, and specialized training. For the military member, relocation is also an opportunity for career advancement and broadening of experiences.
If children are forced to participate in military action they cannot attend school. This is an abuse of their right to an education, which is an abuse of their right to free education. If the child is injured as a result of the conflict they are unlikely to receive an adequate standard of health care.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Syria and Yemen currently have the largest number of child soldiers. 3. Children are not only recruited by armed forces and groups as fighters. They are also used as informants, looters, messengers, spies and as domestic or sexual slaves.
While it may not be a popular solution, child soldiers need to be prosecuted for the actions they commit during conflicts in addition to the prosecution of child soldier recruiters. Without legal ramifications, there is no incentive for the child soldier recruiters to stop their actions.