Children Born of War: Considerations for Policymakers

Ingvill Constanze Ødegaard and Emily Prey

Despite the growing recognition that wars not only take lives but also create them, the topic of children born of war (CBOW) has largely been neglected by policymakers. Most of the current discourse centers around children born of sexual violence conceived during conflict, yet the stigmatization and discrimination faced by CBOW extend beyond the circumstances of conception. The challenges these children encounter are closely linked to the perceptions of their fathers, who may be associated with enemy military, paramilitary, or rebel groups, leading to harmful ramifications for them.

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. To bridge this divide, this dossier Ingvill Constanze Ødegaard and Emily Prey published a dossier with the New Lines Institute, titled “Children Born of War: Considerations for Policymakers” in which they makes eight forward-looking recommendations for policy makers.

Read the dossier here: https://newlinesinstitute.org/gender/children-born-of-war-considerations-for-policymakers/