6. CHILDREN ARE
VULNERABLE
BECAUSE OF THEIR
EMOTIONAL AND
PHYSICAL
IMMATURITY.
THEY ARE EASILY
MANIPULATED
AND DRAWN INTO
VIOLENCE THAT
THEY ARE TOO
YOUNG TO RESIST
OR UNDERSTAND.
8. IN NEPAL, SRI LANKA AND UGANDA, A THIRD OR
MORE OF THE CHILD SOLDIERS WERE REPORTED
TO BE GIRLS
GIRLS MAY BE RAPED, OR GIVEN TO MILITARY
COMMANDERS AS "WIVES"
9. MODERN LIGHTWEIGHT
WEAPONS AND SMALL ARMS ARE ACCESSIBLE AND
SIMPLY OPERATED, ALLOWING CHILDREN TO USE
THEM IN PLACE OF ADULTS
11. CHILDREN ARE KILLED AND
WOUNDED AT FAR HIGHER
RATES THAN THEIR ADULT
COMRADES.
12. THOSE WHO SURVIVE OFTEN SUFFER TRAUMA,
INJURY, ABUSE, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SCARRING
FROM THE VIOLENCE AND BRUTALITY THEY
EXPERIENCE.
SOME ARE REJECTED BY THEIR FAMILIES AND
COMMUNITIES.
13. CHILDREN ARE SOMETIMES
FORCED TO COMMIT
ATROCITIES AGAINST THEIR
OWN FAMILY TO HELP ENSURE
THAT THE CHILD
IS "STIGMATIZED”
AND UNABLE TO
RETURN TO HIS
OR HER HOME
COMMUNITY.