Research Handbook of Children and Armed Conflict

The Research Handbook of Children and Armed Conflict adeptly explores children’s lived realities of armed conflict and its aftermath. Featuring empirical, conceptual and policy analyses, alongside moving first-hand accounts of the experiences of war-affected children and youth, it highlights the urgent need for advocacy and action on this issue. Boasting state of the art contributions by eminent scholars and practitioners from across the globe, this Research Handbook explores the theoretical, practical, and policy issues related to children affected by war. Chapters investigate the profound harms experienced by such children and youth, whether in the heat of conflict, during flight or during resettlement to a new context, underscoring the urgency and high stakes of these situations for children and families affected by war. The Handbook demonstrates that scholarly discussions and debates must ultimately contribute to real-life changes to promote more just and effective immigration legislation, policies, programmes, and practices for war-affected children. Integrating conceptual analyses with concrete policy and political engagement, this incisive Research Handbook will prove essential for scholars, researchers, and students interested in war studies, security, refugee studies, forced migration, international development, child protection and post-conflict reconstruction. Its policy and legally-oriented chapters will also benefit policymakers, civil servants and international NGOs.

Table of Contents:
Contents: “How do we make up for lost time?”: Tackling current questions and realities of children during and following armed conflict 1 Maya Fennig and Myriam Denov PART I VOICES OF YOUNG PEOPLE IMPACTED BY ARMED CONFLICT 1 “Days turned into nights, but we just kept on walking” 20 Arsema Teame 2 “What could have been had I not left my family?” Reflections on war, migration and family separation 29 Bior Leek Ajak PART II APPROACHES TO CHILDREN AFFECTED BY ARMED CONFLICT 3 Prioritizing prevention: the value of a locally led approach in supporting conflict-affected children 38 Michael G. Wessells 4 Participatory action research with youth displaced by war: how youth know, feel and do peace and security 53 Rebecca Sutton 5 Refusing to be victims: child soldiers in the humanitarian world 67 Sylvie Bodineau 6 Stigma and guilt among the children of amnestied ex-combatants in northern Uganda: implications for transitional justice 86 Grace Akello PART III WAR, DISPLACEMENT, AND MIGRATION 7 ‘They have locked us in’: the impact of liminality and protracted displacement on the mental health of Eritrean refugee youth living in Israel 103 Maya Fennig and Myriam Denov 8 Children and parents separated at the U.S. border: a case of human rights violations in the Global North 123 Lyn Morland and Elaine Kelley 9 Agency, resilience and vulnerability of children in contexts of conflict-induced displacement 147 Cordula von Denkowski and Ulrike Krause 10 Navigating displacement: trajecto-making among forced migrant and refugee children and youth 168 Giorgia Donà and Angela Veale PART IV CRITICAL DISCUSSIONS OF POLICY/PRACTICE 11 Child detention in armed conflict 184 Frédéric Mégret and Isabella Spano 12 The child soldier under international law and policy 200 Mark A. Drumbl 13 Preventing the recruitment and use of children as soldiers: a perspective on moral injury and the security sector 215 Shelly Whitman 14 Children without parental care in armed conflict settings: right to family life and alternative care arrangements 232 Mónica Ruiz-Casares 15 Mental health and psychosocial support interventions for conflict-affected children and adolescents: strategies, challenges, and recommendations 253 Shoshanna L. Fine and Jura L. Augustinavicius Index 280

About the Author :
Edited by Myriam Denov, Canada Research Chair in Children, Families and Armed Conflict, and Full Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work, McGill University, Canada and Maya Fennig, Assistant Professor of Social Work, The Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University, Israel

Review :
‘This important and timely book addresses the unimaginable toll of war on children and the urgent need for justice, accountability, and most of all: prevention. This Research Handbook is a vital contribution to the work on children affected by armed conflict.’ ‘This Research Handbook is a must read for everyone interested in the welfare of the more than 500 million children growing up in today’s war zones, and how children’s voices and researcher’s scholarship contribute to more just and effective humanitarian responses and immigration policies.’