Children and young people, victims of the armed conflict: challenges for social work

Abstract

The article presents the results of a research which aimed to understand the processes of personal identity formation in children and young people disengaged from the armed conflict. The accounts of eight young veterans (four men and four women) about their life stories were analyzed from the perspective of social work, aiming to understand them with social responsibility. This implies a commitment to identifying guiding elements for both public policy and intervention processes derived from it. It was concluded that in the constitution of their identities, the search for power and recognition plays an important role, linked to conditions of existence that have marked their social history and have led to the forced recruitment of children and adolescents. This article explains the impacts of the armed conflict on civilians, examines childhood and adolescence among the most affected populations, calls the attention to forced recruitment of children and young people, and reflects on the responsibility of social work regarding prevention, comprehensive repair, and the effective fulfillment of rights.