in detail : Child soldiers
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Child soldiers is a part of child trafficking that involves children being recruited in armed forces around the world. Although many children are recruited by force and violence, some children join out of desperation, thinking that it will make them safer, give them food and increase their chance of survival. Children as young as 8 are recruited into these brutal forces. Children are required to use guns, explosives, experience killing, death, sexual assault, or are used for support facilities which involve high risk and hard labour.
Definition of a child soldier: A child associated with an armed force or armed group refers to any person below 18 years of age who is, or who has been, recruited or used by an armed force or armed group in any capacity, including but not limited to children, boys and girls, used as fighters, cooks, porters, spies or for sexual purposes. The number of children who have become child soldiers over the last decade or two has greatly increased. One reason there has been such an increase is because weapons have become lighter, less cumbersome and easier for the children to use. When there were heavier weapons, children weren't very useful in the front line because they couldn't manipulate the weapons quick enough and couldn't move fast enough. Another reason is the weapons have become simpler to use and cheaper to make. An AK-47 has not many moving parts and is easily reloaded and fixed. An AK-47 costs around US$6 in one African country and over 55 million AK-47s have been sold since 1947. Children have other advantages to being soldiers too as they are easy to control and intimidate, do not demand to be paid and are less likely to run away. In 1988 only, around 200,000 children fought as soldiers ↓Click here to sponsor a child so they have no need to join the army out of desperation↓ |
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