The war in Ukraine has had devastating consequences for children. A crucial yet often overlooked group is children born of war (CBOW), whose parents are from opposing sides and who are often conceived through conflict-related sexual violence. These children could be seen as symbols of the ‘enemy’ in a post-­conflict landscape, potentially making them more vulnerable. The EuroWARCHILD team, together with two research assistants, published a policy brief on this matter with PRIO.

Photo: Mathias Reding via unsplash

Every day, children are born in war and armed conflict, in Ukraine, on the Gaza Strip, in South Sudan, in Myanmar and elsewhere. Some of these children might have parents who are enemies, that is, parents who are on opposite sides of the conflict. Inger Skjelsbæk discusses lessons learned and interventions of today in a new blog post published with PRIO.

Photo: Alexey Furman/Getty Images.

The voices and experiences of children born of war are notably absent from ongoing research and policy discussions, highlighting a significant gap that needs to be addressed, as Ingvill C. Ødegaard and Emily Prey do in a new dossier.

Photo: Justice and Reconciliation Project

Ingvill Constanze Ødegaard contributed an essay entitled “Endurance and Empowerment – reflections on the life development of children of the Lebensborn”, in a new photo book by Angeniet Berkers on the national socialist Lebensborn campaign.

Photo: Eriskay Connection

The growing attention to CBOW in research and advocacy has contributed to a greater awareness of this group . Yet, there are clear discrepancies between how CBOW are conceptualized by academics and how they are approached by policy makers. This divide risks hampering the support CBOW urgently need.

Photo: Andy Nelson via flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/andynelson/

Over nine months have passed since Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Several of the first Ukrainian women who became pregnant as a result of wartime sexual violence have now given birth to children who were conceived as a result of this violence. More will be born in the coming months.
Photo: Kelly Sikkema / Unsplash

The processes of collecting, analyzing, and reporting data that involves Children Born of War (CBOW) require the respect and protection of these children by observing the ethics of research with minors, as Norman Mukasa and Ingvill C. Mochmann write in a new blog post.

Photo: Norman Mukasa

A recent UN report published by the Secretary General in late January is one of the first to focus exclusively on women and girls who become pregnant as a result of sexual violence in conflict and on children born of war.

Photo: UN Photo/Marie Frechon