Special Issue: Children and Armed Conflict - Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology Peace & Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology published a second special issue, which examines what kinds of interventions at both practice and policy levels are necessary in order to support war-affected children. Spanning several continents and integrating conceptual frameworks related to children's social ecologies and resilience, the two issues simultaneously deepen our contextual understanding of war-affected children and inspire concerted action to enable healing, peace, and social justice for children in settings of war and political violence. Children and armed conflict: Interventions for supporting war-affected children This article by CPC faculty affiliate Mike Wessells introduces the 2nd Special Issue on Children and Armed Conflict and outlines 3 pillars of systemic supports for war-affected children: comprehensiveness, sustainability, and Do No Harm. It shows how supports should be multileveled, resilience-oriented, multidisciplinary, tailored to fit different subgroups, and attentive to issues of policy and funding. The achievement of sustainability requires additional attention to building on existing supports, adapting to the local culture and context, focusing more on capacity building than on projects, greater power sharing with local actors, embedding supports in local institutions, and strengthening the evidence base regarding sustainability. The Do…

Special Issue: Children and Armed Conflict - Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology Wars such as those in Syria and Sudan, the murderous rampages of Boko Haram and ISIS, and the forced recruitment of young people into armed groups and terrorist organizations provide a reminder of how deadly and long-term contemporary wars are for children and civilian populations. In most war zones, children comprise half or more of the population. Subjected to violence and accumulating risks, children carry a heavy burden of distress yet frequently lack the supports they need for healing and developing a constructive future. Without effective intervention, children such as child soldiers are at risk of continuing cycles of violence. A new approach is needed to better understand and help children in conflict situations. For the most part, humanitarian assessments and interventions to promote children's well-­­being have been adult-led and top-down, and many have been insensitive to local culture and context. The development of appropriate supports for war-affected children requires deeper listening to and engagement with children to discern their needs and lived experiences. It also requires critical thinking about issues of power and culture, ethics, and how to intervene in appropriate ways. To help address…

Special Issue: Children Affected by Armed Conflict This special issue of the academic journal Children & Society was guest-edited by two CPC faculty affiliates, Myriam Denov and Bree Akesson. It explores the realities of children affected by political violence. The editorial article introduces the journal's special issue discussing the intersection of rights and realities. Read the article here, or contact the corresponding author here.   Childhood, Human Rights and Adversity: The Case of Children and Military Conflict  This article, by Michael Wyness, discusses the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its important role in crystallising a global commitment to protecting children. Nevertheless, beyond these commitments to children, researchers have questioned whether the rights agenda captures the diversity of children's lives globally. Does the Convention connect with the lifeworlds of children playing formative roles? Drawing on critical research on children's rights, he addresses this question through analysing the roles that children play in military conflict. He explores a human rights framework, which highlights the agency of child soldiers focusing on their material, social and political capacities. Read the full article here, or contact the corresponding author here.   "And then they left": Challenges to child protection systems strengthening in South Sudan This article, by associate…

Measuring Better Care: Building the Evidence to Inform Policy and Practice Around Children's Care This special issue of the academic journal Global Social Welfare grew out of a 2014 symposium co-hosted by the CPC Learning Network and the Better Care Network, an event that convened a number of leading academics, policymakers, and practitioners involved in the development or implementation of key initiatives to better measure issues of children's care at country, regional, and international levels. This special issue represents an effort to present state-of-the-art learning about how to measure issues related to children's care in a way that informs more effective policies and programs. The articles listed below are included in this special issue. Special Issue of Global Social Welfare: "Measuring Better Care: Building the Evidence to Inform Policy and Practice Around Children's Care" This editorial piece, co-authored by associate director of the CPC Learning Network, Mark Canavera, and director of Better Care Network, Florence Martin, introduces the journal's special issue on measuring children's care arrangements. Read the article here, or contact the corresponding author here.   Section 1: Measuring Trends in Families and Children's Care and Living Arrangements Who Cares for Children? A Descriptive Study of Care-Related Data Available Through…

This special issue represents an effort to review the economic dimensions of child protection and well-being. The articles listed below are included in this special issue. Economic Dimensions of Child Protection and Well-Being  This editorial piece, co-authored by Fred Ssewamala, Lindsay Stark, Josh Chaffin, Mark Canavera and Debbie Landis, introduces the journal’s special issue on the economic dimensions of child protection and well-being. Read the article here. Social Transfers and Child Protection in the South This article by Armando Barrientos, Jasmina Byrne, Paola Peña and Juan Miguel Villa examines the effects of social transfers in low and middle-income countries on child protection outcomes, including the reduction of violence, exploitation and abuse of children, family separation and improved birth registration. Read the article here. Can Village Savings and Loan Groups be a Potential Tool in the Malnutrition Fight? Mixed Method Findings from Mozambique This article by Aurélie Brunie, Laura Fumagalli, Thomas Martin, Samuel Field and Diana Rutherford examines the impact of participation in village savings and loan groups, alone and in combination with a rotating labor scheme called Ajuda Mútua, on household and child nutritional outcomes in Nampula Province in Mozambique. It combines findings from an impact evaluation and a qualitative exploration of the dynamics underlying…