Research with children living in situations of armed conflict: concepts, ethics & methods /
Jason Hart and Bex Tyrer
- Manila, Philippines : De La Salle Universiry Press, c2006
- iii, 90 pages ; 26 cm.
Section One - Thinking about children in Armed conflict -- Section Two - Ethical Issues in Research with children living amidst armed conflict -- Section Three - Methods for research with living amidst armed conflict.
The impact of modern armed conflict on the world’s children has been devastating. According to the United Nations, during the last decade 2 million children have been killed, more than 1 million have been orphaned, and over 6 million have been seriously injured or permanently disabled. Approximately 800 children are killed or seriously injured by landmines and unexploded ordinance (UXOs) every month. The United Nations High Commissioner for the Refugees (UNHCR) currently offers support to 7.7 million refugee children, whilst over 1.5 million Palestinian refugee children are registered with United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). In addition, around 25 million people are believed to be internally displaced, of whom 40–50 per cent are likely to be under the age of 18 years. In many cases the true figure is likely to be much higher. For example, scholars have argued that as many as half of all displaced persons in Africa are self-settled and thus never show up in official registers.1 Given the considerable obstacles to the collection of data in conflict settings, such figures should be taken as rough guides. Nevertheless, they do point to the massive impact of conflict on children and adolescents. Long after the end of the Cold War, the scale of casualty, displacement, and other consequences of conflict seems to be growing, principally due to changes in the nature of war itself. These changes have resulted in a dramatic increase in the percentages of civilians killed in warfare. In the 1890s, civilian fatalities constituted 5 per cent of total deaths. A century later they had reached an estimated 90 per cent. Over this period all-out warfare between nations has gradually given way to long-term, low-intensity conflict involving rival groups within national boundaries. The site of battle has accordingly moved from relatively uninhabited border areas to the very heart of civilian life in villages, towns, and cities. In addition, the young are vulnerable to death and injury as the result of socalled “collateral damage” caused by “smart” bombs and missiles intended to hit specific sites, often within heavily populated areas. Children are affected not only as community members, alongside adults, but may also be the deliberate targets of military forces. This has been notably the case in, for example, Sierra Leone and Rwanda. Furthermore, the diversion of national resources from the provision of basic services to the purchase of arms, and the destruction of health facilities by warring parties, leaves children especially vulnerable. According to estimates from UNICEF and Save the Children,2 under-18-year-olds are 24 times more likely to die during periods of conflict from illnesses and injuries that in peacetime would be treated routinely.