CHIBOW — Children Born of War - Past, Present and Future

Results in brief

Children Born of War - Past, Present and Future

As described forcefully by consecutive Special Representatives of the UN Secretary General (UNSRSG) for Children Armed Conflict, the physical and psychosocial impact of armed conflict on children is immense. This is true for all children directly and indirectly affected by hostilities, but the impact is particularly pervasive, if children are associated with the enemy. The EU acknowledges that at any one given time, at least 300,000 children are participating in armed conflict globally. Studies have further documented the physical and psychosocial impact of armed conflict on children within armed groups as well as during post-conflict situations; and particularly so, if children are perceived to be associated with the enemy – however the enemy may be defined. Yet some significant aspects of this phenomenon have not been addressed in research leading to very considerable personal and societal costs. Researchers and practitioners generally agree that social, economic and political aspects of reintegration are inextricably linked. Overwhelming evidence suggests that CBOW, not only those who are born as a result of systematic rape and forced pregnancies by enemy soldiers but also children born as a result of consensual relations, have been and continue to be a major obstacle to successful integration of both their mothers and themselves into post-conflict societies. The overall research aim of the CHIBOW project was to improve understanding of the experiences, life courses, educational, social, health outcomes of CBOW relative to their age cohorts in conflict and post-conflict situations through the development of a broader and more advanced knowledge base. By linking historical and anthropological understanding with psychological and psychotherapeutic approaches within an intersectoral setting that directly addresses the translation of research outcomes into strategic programming, this research was both original and innovative. It aided directly the development of strategies leading to more sustainable solutions to the problem of integration of children fathered by foreign soldiers, or those who have been the result of relationships or gender-based violence rooted in war, into their local communities. Equally significantly for the individuals themselves, on the basis of a better understanding of the factors contributing to the marginalisation of CBOW we developed more specific intervention at local level that will aid the prevention of trauma associated with stigmatization and identity issues experienced by large groups of CBOW and thus mitigate the adverse effect of the children’s biological origin. In this, we worked together with groups of CBOW who co-designed research, and supported the development of interventions in response to research outcomes. Further, we collaborated actively with third-sector partners, including policy makers, the media and service providers to start implementing the proposed interventions.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

The physical and psychosocial impact of armed conflict on children is immense and particularly so, if these children are associated with the enemy. Overwhelming evidence suggests that children born of war (CBOW), i.e. children fathered by foreign soldiers and born to local mothers have been and continue to be a major obstacle to successful integration of both their mothers and themselves into post-conflict societies. At a global level, previous UN studies have further emphasized the lack of research on children born out of forced pregnancies in armed conflict. The proposed network addresses the described shortcomings by advancing the knowledge base through systematic analysis of lived experiences of CBOW in a variety of 20th century conflict and post-conflict situations. The main research goal is to further our understanding of how (if at all) CBOW in conflict and post-conflict situations are integrated into society; how (if at all) militaries, governments, and nongovernmental policy makers assist this integration process; and how the children's lived experiences reflect broader societal attitudes to memories of war and vice versa. Our vision is to promote scientific excellence by exploiting the specific research expertise and infrastructure of the co-ordinating partner and all participants in order to advance the research competencies and employability of early career researchers. Their enhanced understanding of the challenges of CBOW in volatile societies will inform the normative debates and, ultimately, policies on the reintegration of CBOW into post-conflict societies. By combining historical, social empirical, psychiatric, political, legal, memory, public health and development studies with the discourse surrounding currently enacted humanitarian intervention, insights gained from this network will surpass existing knowledge and will help improve on current integration efforts.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM · BirminghamCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
ALL SAINTS UNIVERSITY LANGO LBG · LIRAUganda
BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION · LONDONUnited Kingdom
Centre for Children in Vulnerable SituationsBelgium
Deutsches Historisches Institut Paris · BONNGermany
Facilitation for Peace and Development · LiraUganda
GESIS-LEIBNIZ-INSTITUT FUR SOZIALWISSENSCHAFTEN EV · MannheimGermany
ICON-INSTITUTE GMBH & CO. KG CONSULTING GRUPPE · KOLNGermany
IRONBRIDGE GORGE MUSEUM TRUST LBG · TELFORDUnited Kingdom
Interperform Creations UG · BerlinGermany
KLAIPEDOS UNIVERSITETAS · KLAIPEDALithuania
LATVIJAS UNIVERSITATE · RIGALatvia
LUDWIG BOLTZMANN GESELLSCHAFT OSTERREICHISCHE VEREINIGUNG ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTLICHEN FORSCHUNG · WienAustria
MAX WEBER STIFTUNG DEUTSCHE GEISTESWISSENSCHAFTLICHE INSTITUTE IM AUSLAND · BONNGermany
ODI GLOBAL · LondonUnited Kingdom
PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE · CambridgeUnited States
STATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION OF HIGHER PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION RUSSIANSTATE UNIVERSITY FOR THE HUMANITIES · MOSKVARussia
STICHTING REINIER VAN ARKEL · S HERTOGENBOSCHNetherlands
TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY · Tel AvivIsrael
UNIVERSITAET AUGSBURG · AugsburgGermany
UNIVERSITAET LEIPZIG · LeipzigGermany
UNIVERSITATSMEDIZIN GREIFSWALD KORPERSCHAFT DES OFFENTLICHEN RECHTS · GreifswaldGermany
UNIVERSITE DE ROUEN NORMANDIE · MONT SAINT AIGNAN CEDEXFrance
UNIVERZITA JANA EVANGELISTY PURKYNE V USTI NAD LABEM · Usti Nad LabemCzechia
UNIWERSYTET SLASKI W KATOWICACH · KATOWICEPoland

CHIBOW · Children Born of War - Past, Present and Future

Results in brief

Children Born of War - Past, Present and Future

Project objective

Participants

Links