Everett, Jennifer C. “The Battle Continues: Fighting for a More Child-Sensitive Approach to Asylum for Child Soldiers.” Florida Journal of International Law, vol. 21, no. 2, Aug. 2009, pp. 285–356. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=asn&AN=43703595&site=ehost-live.
The article by Jennifer Everett takes a closer look at child soldiers after they have been freed and brought to the United States. Everett explores the current responsibility that the United States takes towards protecting former child soldiers within its own country while also providing for their transition into American society too. In this, Everett analyzes the experiences of former child soldiers, such as Salifou Yankene, a former child soldier, that made the transition to the United States for rehabilitation to determine whether U.S. law provides the proper protection and assistance that these children need. It also evaluates the importance of changes made to laws in the past regarding child soldiers that were made to help ensure that the well-being of child soldiers was never in doubt.
Thomason, Krista. “Guilt and Child Soldiers.” Ethical Theory & Moral Practice, vol. 19, no. 1, Feb. 2016, pp. 115–127. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s10677-015-9595-3.
The use of child soldiers for military and other organizations has become more and more concerning overtime. Yet despite this concern, there has been little recognition from countries all over the world regarding the guilt child soldiers feel. While it is easy to write-off and forget about child soldiers after they have been helped free, it is also easy to forget the burden of guilt these children must live with for the rest of their lives. Thomason argues that these feelings of guilt that linger and stay with these children throughout their lives are not selfish of them but rather appropriate and expected. He argues that it is up to the people and countries around them to help support them so that these children can try to transition into peaceful and nonviolent lives.
Betancourt, Theresa S., et al. “The Intergenerational Impact of War on Mental Health and Psychosocial Wellbeing: Lessons from the Longitudinal Study of War-Affected Youth in Sierra Leone.” Conflict & Health, vol. 14, no. 1, Sept. 2020, p. N.PAG. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1186/s13031-020-00308-7.
Child soldiers as they typically show high amounts of mental health needs and care that are needed due to their past experiences of being a child soldier. To help better understand the severity of what the child is going through mentally and what kind of care is best to help these children rehabilitate back into their normal selves, there are special studies done called Longitudinal Studies of War-Affected Youth (LSWAY). These studies go on for seventeen years and focus on the children's long-term effects/outcomes like adult functioning, family dynamics, and developmental outcomes in offspring to study how once being a child soldier impacts their long-term futures. These studies have determined many struggles these former child soldiers must bear such as high levels of mental health problems amongst these former child soldiers as adults with consequences for their families as well.
Annan, Crystal. “It Takes a Village: Understanding the Use of Child Soldiers.” Applied Anthropologist, vol. 39, no. 1/2, Jan. 2019, pp. 25–29. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=asn&AN=141373575&site=ehost-live.
Child soldiers is a topic that's nothing new to people, yet still continues to happen to this day. Despite all the effort the United Nations has done and all the international and human right laws passed, there continues to be a rise in the number of children used as child soldiers worldwide. As a result, Crystal Annan takes a closer look at what different organizations/groups have done in the past to deal with the use of child soldiers and compares what solutions have consistently worked to the ones that haven't. From this study, she emphasizes that in order for these organizations/groups to be successful in dealing with the child soldier problem, they need to be able to identify and address the causes that allow children to be recruited as child soldiers in the first place.
Denov, Myriam S. “Editorial: When Child Soldiers Grow Up: A Longitudinal Analysis of Postwar Adult Mental Health and Social Functioning.” Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, vol. 59, no. 6, June 2020, pp. 694–696. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2020.03.006.
With a growing concern over the years for the ending of child soldiers, it can be easily forgotten about the struggles that child soldiers go through after they are freed. While serving as child soldiers, these children witness horrific scenes such as murder, the sexual assault of others, and death that they must live with for the rest of their lives. As a result, these children are highly-rated targets for long-term mental health problems with the common child reporting higher levels of anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and depression. This article by Myriam Denov, takes a closer look at the mental health of these former child soldiers not only just after they are freed but also as they continue their lives as an adult and how these former child soldiers function socially in a more stable environment.
Anche, Leggi. I Bambini Soldato Sono Ancora Un Problema. 20 Oct. 2016, www.thezeppelin.org/esistono-ancora-bambini-soldato/.