Who Becomes Victims of Child Soldiering?
Children who come from poor communities, largely uneducated and dealing with survival issues, are the most likely to become child soldiers.Children usually become soldiers through abduction or coercion or through mandatory conscription or forced recruitment. Children and youth from indigenous rural populations are especially at risk. Others join to accompany an older family member, or are encouraged to join by family members as a source of income or protection. For some children, joining a military organization provides a sense of security, as it takes care of immediate survival needs and bestows a sense of identity. In some instances, children join liberation struggles, such as during the Freedom Struggle in apartheid South Africa, or to counter a threat to a group or nation. Political and religious ideologies also motivate some children to join military organizations. Governments also conscript children as part of its national military force. What is the context of people’s and child
