Girl Soldiers and Human Rights: Lessons from Angola, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Northern Uganda

Denov, Myriam

doi:10.1080/13642980802396903

Cited by 30 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Our measure of perceived discrimination mainly captured variables related to fear and differential treatment and threats, but not the specific manifestations of stigma often facing female former child soldiers who were commonly viewed as sexually immoral or defiled (Betancourt, Simmons, et al, 2008; Denov, 2007). In future research, to better understand the relationship between stigma, gender and sexual violence, it would be important to have measures of stigma and perceived discrimination specific to the experiences of female former child soldiers and others who survived sexual abuse.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Past horrors, present struggles: The role of stigma in the association between war experiences and psychosocial adjustment among former child soldiers in Sierra Leone

Betancourt

Agnew-Blais

Gilman

et al. 2010

Social Science & Medicine

295

204

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Upon returning to their communities, children formerly associated with armed forces and armed groups–commonly referred to as child soldiers–often confront significant community stigma. Much research on the reintegration and rehabilitation of child soldiers has focused on exposure to past war-related violence and mental health outcomes, yet no empirical work has yet examined the role that post-conflict stigma plays in shaping long-term psychosocial adjustment. Two waves of data are used in this paper from the first prospective study of male and female former child soldiers in Sierra Leone. We examined the role of stigma (manifest in discrimination as well as lower levels of community and family acceptance) in the relationship between war-related experiences and psychosocial adjustment (depression, anxiety, hostility and adaptive behaviors). Former child soldiers differ from one another with regard to their post-war experiences, and these differences profoundly shape their psychosocial adjustment over time. Consistent with social stress theory, we observed that post-conflict factors such as stigma can play an important role in shaping psychosocial adjustment in former child soldiers. We found that discrimination was inversely associated with family and community acceptance. Additionally, higher levels of family acceptance were associated with decreased hostility, while improvements in community acceptance were associated with adaptive attitudes and behaviors. We found that post-conflict experiences of discrimination largely explained the relationship between past involvement in wounding/killing others and subsequent increases in hostility. Stigma similarly mediated the relationship between surviving rape and depression. However, surviving rape continued to demonstrate independent effects on increases in anxiety, hostility and adaptive/prosocial behaviors after adjusting for other variables. These findings point to the complexity of psychosocial adjustment and community reintegration in these youth and have a number of programmatic and policy implications.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The initial response to their return was often one of fear and distrust (Betancourt, Simmons, et al, 2008). Females were frequently seen as sexually promiscuous or defiled, while many youth–male and female alike–were treated with apprehension (Burman & McKay, 2007; Denov, 2007). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Past horrors, present struggles: The role of stigma in the association between war experiences and psychosocial adjustment among former child soldiers in Sierra Leone

Betancourt

Agnew-Blais

Gilman

et al. 2010

Social Science & Medicine

295

204

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“…Like many civil conflicts, Sierra Leone's war (1991–2002) was characterized by severe and pervasive violence, displacement and loss, as well as the involvement of children (often by force) into several fighting forces including the rebel forces of the Revolutionary United Front, the Sierra Leonean army, and civilian defense forces. These young people, often referred to as “child soldiers,” experienced forced abduction, family separations, repeated exposure to and involvement in violence, as well as frequent physical and sexual abuse (Betancourt, Brennan, et al., ; Denov, ). However, our understanding of the long‐term impact of violence on young people is limited, in part due to the cross‐sectional orientation of much of the research.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Trajectories of Internalizing Problems in War‐Affected Sierra Leonean Youth: Examining Conflict and Postconflict Factors

et al. 2012

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Three waves of data from a prospective longitudinal study in Sierra Leone were used to examine internalizing trajectories in 529 war-affected youth (ages 10-17 at baseline; 25% female). Latent class growth analyses identified four trajectories: a large majority of youth maintained lower levels of internalizing problems (41.4%) or significantly improved over time (47.6%) despite very limited access to care; but smaller proportions continued to report severe difficulties six years post-war (4.5%) or their symptoms worsened (6.4%). Continued internalizing problems were associated with loss of a caregiver, family abuse and neglect, and community stigma. Despite the comparative resilience of most war-affected youth in the face of extreme adversity, there remains a compelling need for interventions that address family- and community-level stressors.

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“…The Paris Principles focus on specific situations of girls, including discrimination, stigma, and the importance of understanding the particularities of girls like motherhood before, during, and after the conflict. Nonetheless, children continue to be excluded from DDR activities and programmes aimed at tackling gender discrimination (Denov 2008;Mazurana and Cole 2013;Mazurana and Carlson 2010;Vaha and Vastapuu 2018).…”

Section: (2) Cognitive Structures Behind the Triple Silence Of Girl Smentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Not differentiating girl soldiers from other categories of combatants has practical consequences including higher indices of re-incidence of girls back into conflict, and the decreasing rates of success of Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration (DDR) programmes (Denov 2008;Ozerdem and Podder 2011;Coulter 2011). In Colombia, for example, the voluntary recruitment of girls is, in many cases, a matter of empowerment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Triply silenced agents: cognitive structures and girl soldiers in Colombia

Martuscelli

Bandarra

2020

Critical Studies on Security

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Girl Soldiers and Human Rights: Lessons from Angola, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Northern Uganda

Cited by 30 publications

References 4 publications

Past horrors, present struggles: The role of stigma in the association between war experiences and psychosocial adjustment among former child soldiers in Sierra Leone

Past horrors, present struggles: The role of stigma in the association between war experiences and psychosocial adjustment among former child soldiers in Sierra Leone

Trajectories of Internalizing Problems in War‐Affected Sierra Leonean Youth: Examining Conflict and Postconflict Factors

Triply silenced agents: cognitive structures and girl soldiers in Colombia

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