Thematic pages posts

Protecting children born of sexual violence and exploitation in conflict zones: existing practice and knowledge gaps
Report on findings from consultations with humanitarian practitioners December 2004, 2005.
Generally, we found that humanitarian practitioners agreed that children born of wartime rape and exploitation are appropriately understood as particularly vulnerable in conflict-affected areas. The conversations echoed much of what is known anecdotally about the risks faced by children born of war. In particular, participants in the consultations discussed these children’s vulnerability to social exclusion and stigma from the societies into which they are born. This underlying risk factor is described as being connected to other sets of vulnerabilities: physical and psycho-social health, access to resources, risk of separation, abuse or neglect by caretakers, and early childhood mortality, including as a result of infanticide.

Closing the protection gap for children born of war: Addressing stigmatisation and the intergenerational impact of sexual violence in conflict
Joanne Neenan, Centre of Women Peace and Security,  2017.
National and international policymakers have largely overlooked the protection needs – and indeed, existence – of children born of sexual violence in conflict. Despite a growing body of research exposing the unique vulnerabilities this group of victim-survivors face, there remains a critical policy and protection gap in addressing their needs. This gap constitutes a global protection and human rights failure.”

Children Born of War – A Decade of International and Interdisciplinary Research
Ingvill C. Mochmann, 2017.
Children Born of War” (CBOW) commonly refers to children who have one parent (usually the mother) that is a member of the local community and the other parent (usually the father) that is part of a foreign army or peacekeeping force (Grieg 2001, 6; Mochmann 2006, 198-9). These children have been born as a result of armed conflicts throughout history, are presently being born in ongoing conflicts and are likely to be born also in future (Mochmann 2014; Mochmann and Kleinau 2016). Although still a taboo in many countries and regions, the topic has obtained increasing attention both in academia and in the public over the past few decades (Kleinau and Mochmann 2015, 34). (…) This finally led to the establishment of the research area of Children Born of War in 2006. This article summarizes the main discussions, developments and achievements obtained during the past decade.