Children Born of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence: A Review of Interdisciplinary Responses to Their Needs and Experiences

Background:

Conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) with the intent of forced pregnancy is common in conflict, and used as a way to dominate women and their society/community. There is growing recognition of the needs of children born of CRSV, particularly by humanitarian practitioners who are coming into contact with them in emergency settings. We sought to find out what is the state-of-the-art on interventions to support children born of CRSV (and their families)?

Methods:

We systematically searched electronic databases (JSTOR, Google Scholar, Scopus, Cairn Info and Embase) and hand searched reference lists of key publications, as well as non-governmental organisations (NGO), United Nations (UN) agencies, international organisations and governmental reports on this topic and in the area of gender-based violence (GBV), child protection, health and other sectors addressed at humanitarian practitioners.

Results:

Experiences of children born of CRSV include psychological, economic, medical, and legal aspects. Responses to their needs include food aid, medical care, housing assistance, financial support for the mothers of children born of CRSV, and therapeutic games and counselling. However, these responses remain insignificant and partial, and are very often only implemented in one setting. The paucity of the evidence base is clear.

Conclusion:

Children born of conflict related sexual violence are a special population, both because of the context in which they were conceived, and because of the experiences they face. To deal with the complexity of their situation and thus respond effectively to their holistic needs, various actors must work in synergy.