Children and War

1. Children and War Mary Claire Hartford

2. The Numbers • More than 2 million children have died as a direct result of armed conflict over the last decade. • Newborns in developing countries are 8 timesas likely to die in childhood as those in industrialized countries. • Over the last decade, 20 million children have been forced to flee their homes because of conflict and human rights violations. • According to UNICEF, in the last decade 10 million childrenwere traumatized by war.

3. The Numbers • Over 30 wars and conflicts rage around the world. Many of these wars go unreported, often due to political expediency or lack of interest. • Sixty million people have been killed in wars during the 20th Century. Over 80%of war casualties are civilians - mainly women and children. • The development of lighter weapons - such as the AK47 - means that boys as young as eightcan be armed.

4. UNICEF study: “Adult Wars, Child Soldiers: Voices of Children” • Nearly all of the 69 children interviewed were given weapons and served in an armed group as combatants. 30 provided details about the type of fighting they had been involved in, while 14 said they had fought in so many battles they could "not remember" the exact number. *Study in East Asia and Pacific Regions*

5. UNICEF study: “Adult Wars, Child Soldiers: Voices of Children” • The children interviewed for the study reported numerous abuses, including brutal training regimens, hard labor and severe punishments while serving in armed groups. • Some said they had been forced to witness or commit atrocities, including rape and murder, while others spoke of seeing friends and family killed.

6. Why? • In addition to the large number of children still serving in armed groups in the East Asia and Pacific regions, there are many more former child soldiers in countries no longer facing conflict. *Then why are these children still dying?*

7. Effects on Children Involved in War

8. Effects on Children Involved in War • Lost Sense of Family • Increased Poverty • Overall Exploitation • Problems with Reintegration • “Justice” is an unknown term. • Lack of Education • And many, many more. • Psycho-Social Disturbances • Memory Loss • Sleeplessness • Agitation and Nervousness • Lack of Trust and Security • Depression • PTSD

9. Meet MalalaYousufzai • 14 Year-Old Pakistani. • October 10th, 2012 she was shot by the Taliban. • Why? • Because she insisted on going to school.

10. Questions • What does it mean to have the “right” to go to school? • Do we take school for granted here in the US? • How many other Malala’s are there? • What are we doing to help?

11. What Can We Do? • AWARENESS IS HUGE! • Developing prevention strategies to reduce the factors that make children vulnerable to "voluntary" recruitment. • Ensuring participation of children affected by armed conflict, including child soldiers, in all research, advocacy and program planning activities. • Identifying and promoting alternative non-violent ways for boys and girls to contribute meaningfully to the cause of their people and communities. • Providing child rights, child protection and gender training for government military and non-state actors.

12. War Child • Non-profit programs in Australia, Canada, Holland, Ireland, UK and US. • Focuses on education, livelihoods and access to justice. • Goals: to pull communities out of poverty, protect child and human rights, and advocate for gender equality.

13. UNICEF • Founded “International Day of the Girl Child” which advocates for the rights of girls and the importance of their security. • Focuses on nutrition and health. • Supporting social services to protect vulnerable children from exploitation and abuse.

14. Let’s Get Helping!

15. Works Cited: • http://www.unicef.org/newsline/02pr58soldiers.htm • http://www.warchild.org/links_resources/childsoldiers/childsoldiers.html