Children Born of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence within Armed Groups - A Case Study of Northern Uganda

Abstract

While children have been implicated in armed conflict for centuries – whether as participants, witnesses and/or victims – the definition and conceptualization of who constitutes a ‘child soldier’ have evolved and shifted over the decades. This Chapter examines and considers the experiences of children who were born – and in some cases raised – within the context of an armed group. Drawing upon the direct voices of children born in Lord’s Resistance Army captivity in northern Uganda, this Chapter explores children’s perspectives on home, family, identity, belonging and post-war reintegration. This Chapter concludes with a discussion of programmatic recommendations as suggested by the children themselves, as well as the implications of this study’s findings for policy with regard to children born of war and understanding of child soldier reintegration more generally.

Keywords: children born in captivity, children born of rape, northern Uganda, reintegration, motherhood, fatherhood, marginalization, children, child soldier