Stop the War on Children
The protection of children in conflict – and with it the realisation of the promises made in the declarations, conventions and statutes of the 20th century – is one of the defining challenges of the 21st century. The nature of conflict – and its impact on children – is evolving.
In today’s armed conflicts, there is often no longer a clearly demarcated battlefield: children’s homes and schools are the battlefield.
Increasingly, the brunt of armed violence and warfare is being borne by children. Children suffer in conflict in different ways to adults, partly because they are physically weaker and also because they have so much at stake – their physical, mental and psychosocial development are heavily dependent on the conditions they experience as children. Conflict affects children differently depending on a number of personal characteristics – significantly gender and age, but also disability status, ethnicity, religion and whether they live in rural or urban locations. The harm that is done to children in armed conflict is not only often more severe than that done to adults, it has longer lasting implications – for children themselves and for their societies
https://www.savethechildren.org/content/dam/usa/reports/ed-cp/stop-the-war-on-children-2019.pdf
Afghanistan Central African Republic Democratic Republic of Congo Global Iraq Mali Nigeria Somalia South Sudan Syria Yemen
Stop the war on children 2020: Gender matters
The third report of Save the Children’s Stop the War on Children campaign reveals shocking trends in the threats to the safety and wellbeing of children living in areas impacted by conflict. While fewer children are living in conflict-affected areas, those who do face the greatest risk of falling victim to serious violence since systematic records began. This report delves into the differences between boys’ and girls’ experiences through a gendered analysis of the six grave violations of children in conflict.
https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/node/16784/pdf/ch1413553.pdf
Afghanistan Colombia Democratic Republic of Congo Global Iraq Mali Syria
Road to recovery – Responding to children’s mental health in conflict
The report states that 142 million children are living in high-intensity conflict zones, with many more millions forced to abscond as refugees. More than 24 million children exposed to conflict today are likely to encounter mild to moderate mental health problems yet, as Save the Children rightly contends, the global response to mental health support continues to be regrettably inadequate
https://www.savethechildren.org/content/dam/usa/reports/emergency-response/road-to-recovery.pdf
Child soldiers world index. Database mapping child recruitment
Child soldiers world index is the first-ever online global database mapping child recruitment practices, laws and policies of all 197 UN Member States. This global map visualises trends in the military exploitation of children, if you click on any country you see full details of the national legal framework, policies and practices, which armed groups recruit children, number of children reported etc. It is a valuable source of research and shows the seriousness of the situation of children in the world.
Defence for Children International (DCI)
The DCI International Secretariat (IS) is the focal point for DCI as an international movement, focusing mainly on lobbying, research, networking and advocacy work, primarily around the issue of juvenile justice. Moreover, the IS offers technical assistance and capacity building to its 40 national sections and associated members across the globe. DCI national sections and associated members develop and implement programmes addressing a number of pressing child rights issues including: Child Labour, Juvenile Justice, Child Soldiers, Sexual Abuse/Exploitation, Violence Against Children, Child Trafficking, Education, Health
Access to Justice for Male Victims of Sexual Violence; Focus on Refugees in Uganda
Sexual violence against men has garnered increasing publicity in recent years[2] but still remains extremely under-researched and under-reported. This paper will examine the challenges facing male victims of sexual violence. The paper will look at the broad international framework, including definitions of sexual violence and international jurisprudence in the area as well as generally looking at how the term sexual or gender based violence has come to be associated with violence against women (webpage).
Hope in the Shadows: Male Victims of Sexual Assault in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
As a result of ongoing conflict, poverty and instability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese men and women have been subjected to various forms of sexual violence by warring rebel militia, government forces, and noncombatants. Most humanitarian aid, money, and international attention supports female victims of sexual violence, but male victims are largely left in the shadows. Simplified narratives of gender violence often define men as villains and women as victims. This narrative aligns with traditional conceptions of gender roles; however, the oversimplification often leaves male victims overlooked by policy responses designed to address sexual violence.
In some refugee groups, more than one in three men are said to have suffered sexual violence
Sexual violence against men is one of the least told aspects of war. Yet men and boys are victims too of abuse that is frequently more effective at destroying lives and tearing communities apart than guns alone. It can take the form of anal and oral rape, genital torture, castration, gang rape, sexual slavery and the forced rape of others. It is so taboo that few survivors have the courage to tell their story. Besides feeling ashamed and afraid of being ostracised, many victims dare not challenge powerful myths about male rape in their cultures, experts say. A common belief is that a man who is raped becomes a woman.
http://news.trust.org/item/20140515154437-het27/
Central African Republic Democratic Republic of Congo Europe Libya Syria
Mean Streets: Identifying and Responding to Urban Refugees’ Risks of Gender-Based Violence
Throughout 2015, WRC conducted a research in urban settings, the first phase of a multi-year project to improve the humanitarian communitys understanding of and response to GBV risks in urban contexts. Quito, Ecuador; Beirut, Lebanon; Kampala, Uganda; and Delhi, India, were chosen because they are host to diverse refugee populations, have different policy environments for refugees, and are at different stages of humanitarian response. The project looked separately at the GBV risks of different urban refugee subpopulations: women; children and adolescents; LGBTI individuals; persons with disabilities; and male survivors of sexual violence.
https://www.womensrefugeecommission.org/research-resources/mean-streets/
Child Protection in the Philippines – A Situational Analysis
A situation analysis on Child Protection in the Philippines commissioned by the Save the Children Child Protection Initiative (CPI ) that could be used to guide the development of child protection interventions under CPI’s priority areas, which include: Children without appropriate care; Child protection in emergencies; and Child labour. The CPI initiative aims to upgrade the capacities of local authorities and municipalities to improve the wellbeing of disadvantaged children and increase the level of knowledge of policies and programmes that address critical child issues, such as abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence.
http://resourcecentre.savethechildren.se/library/child-protection-philippines-situational-analysis