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Children in the military, including state armed forces, non-state armed groups, and other military organizations, may be trained for combat, assigned to support roles, such as cooks, porters/couriers, or messengers, or used for tactical advantage such as for human shields, or for political advantage in propaganda.[1][2] Children (defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child as people under the age of 18) have been recruited for participation in military operations and campaigns throughout history and in many cultures.[3]
Children are targeted for their susceptibility to influence, which renders them easier to recruit and control.[4][5][3][6] While some are recruited by force, others choose to join up, often to escape poverty or because they expect military life to offer a rite of passage to maturity.[3][7][8][9][10]
Child soldiers who survive armed conflict frequently develop psychiatric illness, poor literacy and numeracy, and behavioral problems such as heightened aggression, which together lead to an increased risk of unemployment and poverty in adulthood.[11] Research in the United Kingdom has found that the enlistment and training of adolescent children, even when they are not sent to war, is often accompanied by a higher risk of suicide,[12][13] stress-related mental disorders,[14][15] alcohol abuse,[16][17] and violent behavior.[18][19][20]
Since the 1960s, a number of treaties have successfully reduced the recruitment and use of children worldwide.[21] Nonetheless, around a quarter of armed forces worldwide, particularly those of third-world nations, still train adolescent children for military service,[22][23][24] while elsewhere, the use of children in armed conflict and insurgencies has increased in recent years.[22][25][26]
- ^ "Children at war". History Extra. Archived from the original on 12 January 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
- ^ UNICEF (2007). "The Paris Principles: Principles and guidelines on children associated with armed forces or armed groups" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 October 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
- ^ a b c Wessels, Michael (1997). "Child Soldiers". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. 53 (4): 32. Bibcode:1997BuAtS..53f..32W. doi:10.1080/00963402.1997.11456787.
- ^ Beber, Blattman, Bernd, Christopher (2013). "The Logic of Child Soldiering and Coercion". International Organization. 67 (1): 65–104. doi:10.1017/s0020818312000409.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Dave., Grossman (2009). On killing : the psychological cost of learning to kill in war and society (Rev. ed.). New York: Little, Brown and Co. ISBN 9780316040938. OCLC 427757599.
- ^ McGurk, Dennis; Cotting, Dave I.; Britt, Thomas W.; Adler, Amy B. (2006). "Joining the ranks: The role of indoctrination in transforming civilians to service members". In Adler, Amy B.; Castro, Carl Andrew; Britt, Thomas W. (eds.). Military life: The psychology of serving in peace and combat. Vol. 2: Operational stress. Westport: Praeger Security International. pp. 13–31. ISBN 978-0275983024.
- ^ Brett, Rachel; Specht, Irma (2004). Young soldiers : why they choose to fight. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers. ISBN 9781588262615. OCLC 53830868.
- ^ Gee, David; Taylor, Rachel (1 November 2016). "Is it Counterproductive to Enlist Minors into the Army?". The RUSI Journal. 161 (6): 36–48. doi:10.1080/03071847.2016.1265837. ISSN 0307-1847. S2CID 157986637.
- ^ Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers (2008). "Child Soldiers Global Report 2008". Archived from the original on 10 October 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Machel-1996was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Boothby, N-2010was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Ursano, Robert J.; Kessler, Ronald C.; Stein, Murray B.; Naifeh, James A.; Aliaga, Pablo A.; Fullerton, Carol S.; Wynn, Gary H.; Vegella, Patti L.; Ng, Tsz Hin Hinz (1 July 2016). "Risk Factors, Methods, and Timing of Suicide Attempts Among US Army Soldiers". JAMA Psychiatry. 73 (7): 741–9. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.0600. ISSN 2168-622X. PMC 4937827. PMID 27224848.
- ^ UK, Ministry of Defence (2017). "UK armed forces suicide and open verdict deaths: 1984–2017". Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- ^ Goodwin, L.; Wessely, S.; Hotopf, M.; Jones, M.; Greenberg, N.; Rona, R. J.; Hull, L.; Fear, N. T. (2015). "Are common mental disorders more prevalent in the UK serving military compared to the general working population?". Psychological Medicine. 45 (9): 1881–1891. doi:10.1017/s0033291714002980. ISSN 0033-2917. PMID 25602942. S2CID 3026974.
- ^ Martin, Pamela Davis; Williamson, Donald A.; Alfonso, Anthony J.; Ryan, Donna H. (February 2006). "Psychological adjustment during Army basic training". Military Medicine. 171 (2): 157–160. doi:10.7205/milmed.171.2.157. ISSN 0026-4075. PMID 16578988.
- ^ Head, M.; Goodwin, L.; Debell, F.; Greenberg, N.; Wessely, S.; Fear, N. T. (1 August 2016). "Post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol misuse: comorbidity in UK military personnel". Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 51 (8): 1171–1180. doi:10.1007/s00127-016-1177-8. ISSN 0933-7954. PMC 4977328. PMID 26864534.
- ^ Mattiko, Mark J.; Olmsted, Kristine L. Rae; Brown, Janice M.; Bray, Robert M. (2011). "Alcohol use and negative consequences among active duty military personnel". Addictive Behaviors. 36 (6): 608–614. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2011.01.023. PMID 21376475.
- ^ MacManus, Deirdre; Dean, Kimberlie; Jones, Margaret; Rona, Roberto J; Greenberg, Neil; Hull, Lisa; Fahy, Tom; Wessely, Simon; Fear, Nicola T (2013). "Violent offending by UK military personnel deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan: a data linkage cohort study". The Lancet. 381 (9870): 907–917. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(13)60354-2. PMID 23499041. S2CID 606331.
- ^ Bouffard, L A (2005). "The Military as a Bridging Environment in Criminal Careers: Differential Outcomes of the Military Experience". Armed Forces & Society. 31 (2): 273–295. doi:10.1177/0095327x0503100206. S2CID 144559516.
- ^ Merrill, Lex L.; Crouch, Julie L.; Thomsen, Cynthia J.; Guimond, Jennifer; Milner, Joel S. (August 2005). "Perpetration of severe intimate partner violence: premilitary and second year of service rates". Military Medicine. 170 (8): 705–709. doi:10.7205/milmed.170.8.705. ISSN 0026-4075. PMID 16173214.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
CSI-2017awas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Child Soldiers International (2012). "Louder than words: An agenda for action to end state use of child soldiers". Archived from the original on 8 March 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
- ^ "Child Soldiers World Index". Dallaire Institute. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ Child Soldiers International (2018). "Why 18 Matters: A rights-based analysis of child recruitment". Save the Children Resource Centre. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ Child Soldiers International (2016). "A law unto themselves? Confronting the recruitment of children by armed groups". Archived from the original on 8 March 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
UN SecGen-2017bwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).