Myriam Denov

Coping with the trauma of war: Former child soldiers in post-conflict Sierra Leone

Children across the globe have been implicated in armed conflict as both victims and participants. During Sierra Leone’s decade-long civil war, thousands of children, both boys and girls, participated directly in armed conflict or were recruited for labour or sexual exploitation in armed groups. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with 80 children formerly associated with Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front, this paper explores children’s experiences of violence during the armed conflict, traces the realities that children faced in the aftermath of the war, and examines the ways in which participants attempted to cope with the war’s profound after-effects. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for social work.

Turnings and Epiphanies: Militarization, Life Histories, and the Making and Unmaking of Two Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone

The militarization of children and their active participation in conflict continues to be a global phenomenon affecting hundreds of thousands of children. Yet many of the realities of child soldiery remain unclear and continue to be under-researched. In particular, the process of militarization and how it impinges on the identities and actions of children who are drawn into conflict remains poorly understood. Similarly, the experiences of children undergoing demobilization and a return to post-conflict, non-militarized social circumstances are essentially undocumented. Through the use of a life-history approach, this paper examines the making and unmaking of two Sierra Leonean child soldiers, one female and one male, in relation to the militarization of social systems and subsequent efforts to demobilize belligerent social groups. The paper reviews the turnings and epiphanies of these childrens lives—particularly how these children became implicated as combatants in Sierra Leones civil war, the manner and degree to which they assumed a militarized ‘identity’, and their subsequent efforts to re-adapt to civilian life in a context of post-war demilitarization.

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

The issue of child soldiers has become an issue of global concern. More than 250,000 soldiers under the age of 18 are fighting in conflicts in over 40 countries around the world. While there is ample descriptive evidence of the conditions and factors underlying the rise of child soldiery in the developing world, most of the literature has portrayed this as a uniquely male phenomenon, ultimately neglecting the experiences and perspectives of girls within fighting forces. Drawing upon the findings of three studies funded by the Canadian International Development Agencys Child Protection Research Fund, this paper traces the perspectives and experiences of girls as victims and participants of violence and armed conflict in Angola, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, and Northern Uganda. The three studies collectively reveal three salient themes. First, whether in the heat of conflict or within post-war programming, girls are, for the most part, rendered invisible and marginalised. Second, in spite of this profound invisibility and marginalisation, girls are fundamental to the war machine—their operational contributions are integral and critical to the overall functioning of armed groups. Third, girls in fighting forces contend with overwhelming experiences of victimisation, perpetration, and insecurity. In the aftermath of conflict, girls arguably bear a form of secondary victimisation through socio-economic marginalisation and exclusion, as well as the ongoing threats to their health and personal security.

Criminal Injustice Understanding the Causes, Effects, and Responses to Wrongful Conviction in Canada

During the past decade, there has been growing international interest in the topic of wrongful conviction and its serious implications. As in other jurisdictions, Canada has seen several high-profile cases of wrongful conviction that have led to an increased recognition of the fallibility of the criminaljustice process.However, despite increased media attention to the issue, corresponding academic literature on the problem has been limited in this country. This article begins by reviewing the literature on the causes of wrongful conviction and uses examples from Canadian cases as illustrations. Following this, through qualitative interviews with five wrongly convicted Canadians, the article examines some long-termeffects of a wrongfulimprisonmenton individuals and their families both during incarceration and following their release. Finally, government responses to the issue are discussed, illustrating their limitations and their relevance for criminal justice policy and practice.

Tactical Maneuvering and Calculated Risks: Independent Child Migrants and the Complex Terrain of Flight.

Similar to refugees in general, independent child migrants are frequently constructed in academic and popular discourse as passive and powerless or as untrustworthy and potentially threatening. Such portrayals fail to capture how these youth actively navigate the complex experiences of forced migration. Drawing on interviews with independent child migrants who arrived in Canada and on the conceptual framework of social navigation, we argue that contrary to being powerless, and despite significant structural barriers, these youth deliberately and thoughtfully navigate flight by making strategic decisions and taking calculated risks thereby ensuring their survival and well-being.

Separated Refugee Children in Canada: The Construction of Risk Identity

Stateless and parentless, separated refugee children may become the focus of multiple discourses concerning migration and youth. Relying upon the conceptual framework risk identity, this article explores the experiences, perspectives, and constructions of separated children in Canada. Interviews with separated children and stakeholders reveal two themes of risk. The first centers on separated children as refugees and can be understood in relation to “anti-refugee” discourse. The second centers on separated children as children, reflecting the occurrence of “anti-youth” discourse, particularly in relation to visible minority youth. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these discourses on separated children.

Research as intervention? Exploring the health and well-being of children and youth facing global adversity through participatory visual methods

ABSTRACT Global health research typically relies on the translation of knowledge (from health professionals to the community) and the dissemination of knowledge (from research results to the wider public). However, Greenhalgh and Wieringa [2011. Is it time to drop the ‘knowledge translation’ metaphor? A critical literature review. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 104(12), 501–509. doi:10.1258/jrsm.2011.110285] suggest ‘that while “translation” is a widely used metaphor in medicine, it constrains how we conceptualize and study the link between knowledge and practice’ (p. 501). Often the knowledge garnered from such research projects comes from health professionals rather than reflecting the lived experiences of people and communities. Likewise, there has been a gap in ‘translating’ and ‘disseminating’ the results of participatory action research projects to policymakers and medical practitioners. This paper will look at how using participatory visual methodologies in global health research with children and youth facing global adversity incorporates the multiple functions of their lived realities so that research becomes a means of intervention. Drawing from a literature review of participatory visual methods as media, content and processes of global health research, this paper raises practical, theoretical, and ethical questions that arise from research as intervention. The paper concludes by exploring what lessons emerge when participatory visual methodologies are integrated into global health research with children and youth facing global adversity.

The power of sweet words: Local forms of intervention with war-affected women in rural Sierra Leone

During Sierra Leone’s civil war, women and girls experienced numerous forms of gender-based violence and gross human rights violations, which had profound implications both during and following the conflict. In the war’s aftermath, Sierra Leonean social workers provided crucial forms of support to war-affected women and girls. Drawing on in-depth interviews, this article explores local forms of social work assistance provided to women in the post-conflict period. The article examines the assistance provided, the techniques and approaches of local practitioners, and the perceived impact of the interventions. In examining these post-war interventions, we highlight the unique local approaches to practice, and their implications for international social work practice and research.

Social Navigation and Power in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone: Reflections from a Former Child Soldier Turned Bike Rider

Social navigation is a concept increasingly being used by scholars to capture the complexities of young people’s wartime experiences, and simultaneously dispel portrayals of child soldiers as powerless, passive and/or pathological. In his discussion of youth and armed conflict in Guinea-Bissau, Vigh (2006) defines wartime social navigation as the way in which war-affected young people assess the changes within their socio-political environment, evaluate the emerging possibilities within this environment and, accordingly, direct their lives in the most beneficial and advantageous ways. Challenging frameworks of victimhood and taking into account elements of both broader structures and individual agency, social navigation encapsulates the ways in which agents such as child soldiers navigate the terrain of war – a terrain that is constantly moving and changing:

“I Asked Myself If I Would Ever Love My Baby”: Mothering Children Born of Genocidal Rape in Rwanda

The 1994 Rwandan genocide was characterized by brutal acts of widespread sexual violence against women that, for some, led to unwanted pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood. This study explores the perspectives and experiences of 44 Rwandan women with children born of genocidal rape through in-depth qualitative interviews. Emerging from the data are the themes of identity and belonging, ambivalence, and truth-telling in the mother–child relationship. Findings highlight the lasting and intergenerational legacy of genocidal rape, and practice and policy implications are discussed.