The Impact of War on Children
A Global Perspective
Basic Information
 Women and children account for almost 80% of the
casualties of conflict and war
 They also account for 80% of the 40 million refugees
worldwide
 In the last decade, approximately two million children have
been killed in wars and conflicts
 4.5 million children have been disabled and 12 million have
been left homeless
Ways in Which War Directly
Impacts Children
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Death
Injury
Disability
Illness
Rape and prostitution
Psychological suffering
Moral and spiritual impacts
Social and cultural losses
Child soldiers
Exploitation
Separation of Families
 Unaccompanied children are likeliest to have their
rights violated, be killed, tortured, raped, robbed and
recruited as child soldiers.
 By the end of 1994, more than 100,000 Rwandan
children had been separated from their families - the
highest number of such children registered by
UNICEF since the agency was founded in 1946.
 In Cambodia, half the population is under the age of
15. The disintegration of the Cambodian family has led
to increased rates of delinquency, crime, drug abuse
and child prostitution.
Separation of Families
 Adolescent girls often assume responsibility for their
younger siblings. In September 1995, UNICEF and the
Rwandan Government identified 1,939 children living
in child-headed households.
 Child-headed households are also vulnerable to
exploitation by surviving relatives and neighbors.
 In Cambodia some refugee families had temporarily
adopted unaccompanied children in order to obtain
additional food and relief supplies, only to abandon
the children once they returned to Cambodia.
Separation of Families
 In Bosnia and Herzegovina, some evacuations of
children had been organized by groups intent on
profiting from adoption markets.
 Many unaccompanied displaced children are not
orphans and greater emphasis needs to be placed on
reuniting families – especially before allowing any
type of permanent adoption procedure to take place.
What Can Be Done
 Reunification programs should be a main priority in all new
and existing relief operations.
 Refugee camps should be located far from conflict zones to
reduce the risk of children being enticed or recruited into
warring groups. They should have food/water sources in
locations that can be easily monitored to prevent further
victimization.
 In Sudanese refugee camps in Ethiopia: 'villages' have been
created with three to five children living together in each
traditional hut under the supervision of a caregiver from
among their own people.
Child Soldiers
 According to a 1996 Unicef report, there are approximately
300,000 child soldiers, including many girls who are forced
to 'service' the troops.
 Young girls are also used as combatants but at a much
lesser rate than their male counterparts.
 Children are more easily armed and require less training.
Current weapons are lightweight and easy to fire.
 Children also tend to be more obedient and usually do not
demand pay for their services.
Child Soldiers - Recruitment
 In Liberia, children as young as seven have been
found in combat.
 In Cambodia, a survey of wounded soldiers found that
20 per cent of them were between the ages of 10 and
14 when recruited.
 In Sri Lanka, of 180 Tamil Tiger guerrillas killed in one
government attack, more than half were still in their
teens, and 128 were girls.
 In the Sudan, children as young as 12 have been
rounded up from buses and cars.
Child Soldiers - Recruitment
 In Guatemala, youngsters have been grabbed from
streets, homes, parties, and even violently removed
from churches.
 In the 1980s, the Ethiopian military recruited boys,
sometimes at gunpoint, from football fields, markets,
religious festivals or on the way to school.
Child Soldiers - Successes
 In Peru, for example, forced recruitment drives reportedly
declined in areas where they were denounced by parish
churches.
 In Myanmar, protests from aid agencies led to the release
of boys forcibly recruited from a refugee camp.
 In Sudan, humanitarian organizations negotiated
agreements with opposition groups to prevent the
recruitment of children.
References
 Somasundaram, Daya “Short and Long-Term Effects
on the Victims of Terror in Sri Lanka.” Journal of
Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma 9.1,9.2 (2004):
215-228.
 Modell, J & Haggerty, T “The Social Impact of War.”
Annual Review of Sociology 17 (1991): 205-224.
 Levy,B. S. and Sidel, V.W “The Social Impact of War.”
Annual Review of Public Health 30 (2009): 3.1-3.14.
References
 Toole, M. J. & Waldman, R. J. “The Public Health Aspects
of Complex Emergencies and Refugee Situations.”
Annual Review of Public Health 18 (1991): 283-312.
 Levy,B.S. and Sidel, V.W “The Social Impact of War.”
Annual Review of Sociology 17 (1991): 205-224.
 Marshall, Lucinda. “Unacceptable: The Impact of War on
Women and Children.” Common Dreams News Center.
2004. 2 Dec. 2008
<http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1219-26.htm>.
References

Machel, Graca. “Promotion and Protection of the Rights of
Children.” UNICEF. 1996. 24 Nov. 2008
<http://www.unicef.org/graca/a51-306_en.pdf>.

Barbara, Joanna S. “Impact of War on Children and Imperative to
End War.” Croatian Medical Journal. 2006. 24 Nov. 2008
<http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2080
482>.

Hamblem, Jessica “PTSD in Children and Adolescents.” National
Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. 1998. 2 Dec. 2008
<http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/ncmain/ncdocs/fact_shts/fs_children.h
tml>.