ARTICLES

Women combatants are not a homogeneous group. The current approach of many Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programmes is inappropriate for girls between 14 and 25 years of age. In order to provide reintegration assistance that has a significant long-term impact, it is essential first to understand why girls the join armed forces.

Reintegration processes of formerly abducted children have yielded limited success in northern Uganda. The article seeks answers to the question why reintegration processes in the area have failed. The approach of one Christian non-governmental organization towards reintegration is compared with the ideas and strategies of formerly abducted child soldiers and people in their communities on how best to deal with their violent past.

This article offers findings on the first longitudinal study of life outcomes for former child soldiers. Between 1988 and 2004, information was prospectively collected on 39 male former child soldiers in Mozambique. The data show that, after 16 years, the vast majority of this group of former child soldiers have become productive, capable and caring adults. At the same time, none of them are truly free from their pasts.

In this article the literature on psychosocial assistance to children in war-affected areas is reviewed. Two main types of interventions are identified: the curative approach and the developmental approach. The effectiveness of each of these approaches is discussed.

This article presents the methodology and results of a study on the effectiveness of two psychosocial interventions targeting female victims of war-related and sexual violence in Liberia. One intervention provided counselling, the other offered support groups and skill training. Qualitative research suggests that the participants of both interventions were positive with regard to the help provided.

After the Madrid March 11, 2004 terrorist attacks, the interplay of politicians, journalists and academicians created an atmosphere of collective trauma. The authors analysed data related to these attacks in a sample of the population of Madrid (N = 503) 18-25 days after the attacks. Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was systematically assessed on the basis of a self-administered interview.

This article is based on the experiences of a recent pilot project to develop a participatory approach to the monitoring and evaluating of psychosocial interventions with children affected by armed conflict. It presents the conceptual framework and the principles that underpinned the testing of tools within programmes in eastern Sri Lanka.

Best practice in psychosocial work with marginalized populations emphasizes the importance of community participatory approaches. However, the majority of field reports on psychosocial support with marginalized children describe donor initiated projects in which the goal is community empowerment, ownership and control, rather than reports about collaboration with activist movements arising from the communities themselves.

Based on an assessment of over 8000 active militia members and military staff in seven regions of Somalia, this article reports on three groups of respondents who might require special attention in a future Somali disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programme. The assessment revealed distinct preferences concerning future reintegration assistance, according to region, age and gender of the respondents.