Psycho-social sectionThe purpose of this section is to foster a constructive inter and intra-disciplinary dialogue on relevant psycho-social issues in the area of children and armed conflict. We have invited leading experts in the field to contibute to the page by writing a series of articles offering up to date perspectives on a number of relevant themes. This project is financed by the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial
Foundation. Issue 4: January 2006 and The paper by Mckay, Robinson and colleagues successfully outlines the
considerable challenges facing girl mothers leaving fighting forces who
seek to reintegrate into their communities in southern and western Africa.
Often stigmatised and rejected by their communities, these girls struggle
to find ways to earn a living to support themselves and their children in
the face of economic and sexual exploitation. The paper derives from a conference held on girl mothers (Bellagio,
2005 - see links below). It is based on participatory research and papers
presented there, and on the ensuing workshop discussions. It also draws on
the extant literature, and the authors' own expertise and research in this
area. Given the integrative task facing them in writing this paper, the authors are to be congratulated on successfully allowing the voices of the girl mothers themselves to be heard. In spite of the physical and psychological sequelae of their experiences of extreme violence, the girl mothers speak of their own resilience, and demonstrate insight into their situations and a willingness to help themselves. They call for improved support from their communities so that they can better care for their children and earn their own living. They speak of a need for a healing period prior to reintegration, as well as access to public medical services, education and skills training. The authors succinctly outline key themes, issues and priorities for programming in this area based on an awareness of changing family structures, child protection issues and community concerns. Importantly, they draw attention to the plight of the children of girl mothers whose needs remain largely unknown, in spite of the child protection focus of agencies working with their mothers. Of particular note is their conclusion that formal DDR processes are not appropriate for girl mothers, and that community based programming offers the potential for a way forward in reintegrating this particularly 'at-risk' group. Given the knowledge gaps in this field, another identified way forward is the expansion of our outcomes evidence base by means of research collaboration between practitioners in the field and research experts acting in a facilitative and consultative role. The second article focuses on issues related to meeting the needs of war affected children within the context of English mental health services. It is written by an eminent British child psychiatrist, Dr. Guinevere Tufnell, who works in a specialist post-traumatic centre in London providing assessment and treatment for refugee war affected children and their families. This highly specialised service sees psychologically distressed children who have survived severe and multiple traumatic events. Over the last four years the service has worked with more than 200 war affected children who have come to the UK as refugees, some with their families, others unaccompanied by adults. Using a clinical example of Mohammed, a former child soldier from Somalia as an illustration, Guinevere highlights the psychological and social difficulties these children face when they arrive in England and try to adjust to their new lives. She also discusses the clinical dilemmas and service issues facing clinicians who try to meet these children's psychological needs against a background of poorly resourced and inadequate services provided for them in England. The article's conclusions are based on Guinevere's extensive clinical experience with war affected children when they find themselves in England. She asserts that psychological support is only one aspect of what children affected by war need in order to enhance their resilience and enable them to adjust to life in a new country. The Bellagio Conference Report is posted below, but can also be
accessed at: Any comments on these and previous articles can be sent to: Dr Linda
Dowdney, Editor, Psycho-social web page. E-mail Dr Dowdney. Future articles: Articles to be posted soon on this page include:
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