Constructing Soldiers from Boys in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Abstract

This study is part of an ethnography focusing on war rape in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where child soldiers are both victims and perpetrators of violence. Twelve ex-child soldier boys, aged thirteen to eighteen years, from a reintegration facility were interviewed about their soldiering experiences and their perspectives on sexual violence. Transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Conceptual frameworks of militarized masculine identity and gender-based violence guided the process. Results revealed the systematic and violent construction of children into soldiers, inculcating a ''militarized masculinity''; a rigid set of stereotypical hypermasculinized behaviors promoting dominance by violating, sexually and otherwise, the subordinate ''other.'' This was achieved through terrorizing/coercing, use of indigenous preparations, substance abuse, and forbidden reflection. This article presents a more contextualized complex view of the violent perpetrator whose behaviors are a manifestation of the modes and mechanisms in which society has constructed/reconstructed gender, ethnicity, and class, and the power dynamics therein.

Effects of armed conflict on child health and development: A systematic review

“…Studies from Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and El Salvador document the extreme kinds of violence that children experience during association with armed forces or groups, including being forced to watch and take part in killing, cannibalism, rape, child marriage, and sexual slavery. [52, 99, 110–114] Three studies also describe the process of indoctrinating children and methods used to control and isolate them. The children in these studies describe regular physical and psychological abuse, torture, and the normalisation of violence.…”

Masculinity and War

“…Boys socially channeled into a totalistic military world learned masculinity that emphasized domination and violation of a sexually subordinated other. To remain within the solidarity of the group demanded going with that flow (Trenholm et al 2012).…”

Men of the Troops: The Construction of Masculinity in the Contemporary Hollywood War Movie The Yellow Birds (2017)

“…In addition to maintaining a fit body, soldiers are also required to exhibit self-control and to be capable of concealing their emotions, since emotionality is seen as a weakness and expressing one's emotions openly in the context of combat could be fatal. As a result, soldiers tend to mask their feelings of fear in order to survive [27]. This phenomenon of "mask-culinity" occurs to Sergeant Sterling as an impact of a reinforcement of masculinity by the military institution.…”