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7 - The Youngest Victims

Children and Young People Affected by War

from Part II - International Social Justice Issues That Have an Impact on Children and Young People

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2020

By
James Garbarino ,
Amy E. Governale  and
Danielle Nesi
Edited by
Caroline S. Clauss-Ehlers ,
Aradhana Bela Sood  and
Mark D. Weist
Caroline S. Clauss-Ehlers
Affiliation:
Rutgers University, New Jersey
Aradhana Bela Sood
Affiliation:
Virginia Commonwealth University
Mark D. Weist
Affiliation:
University of South Carolina
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Summary

In 1989, the United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child declared, “[state parties] shall take all feasible measures to ensure protection and care of children who are affected by an armed conflict.” In addition to attempting to secure the welfare of children in armed conflict, the Convention went on to ban the recruitment and deployment of children during armed conflict. Despite the vast majority of sovereign nations signing and ratifying this agreement, this treaty, unfortunately, has not prevented children and youth from witnessing, becoming victims of, or participating in political, ethnic, religious, and cultural violence across the past three decades. This chapter offers an “ecological perspective” on the psychosocial consequences of exposure to the trauma of war-related violence and social disruption.

Keywords

developmental assetsecological perspectivemisogynyPTSDPTSSresiliencesocial toxicitytrauma
Type
Chapter
Information
Social Justice for Children and Young People
International Perspectives
 , pp. 106 - 122
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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