Source: RNW
The plight of child soldiers in Africa has grabbed the headlines in recent weeks, first with the 'Kony 2012' video from the Invisible Children pressure group, and this week with the conviction of former Liberian President Charles Taylor for aiding the recruitment of child soldiers. But what is overlooked by many is how many of those children are girls.

News reports on child soldiers generally use images of young boys holding guns, but "nearly half of all children associated with armed groups are girls" according to a report from Save the Children from 2005.

The current media-driven discussion on child soldiers includes mostly references to males. And yet many girls are actively engaged in combat.

Girl soldiers are likely to hide their past for fear of being stigmatized. Compounding the problem further is the international community's underestimation of their role in conflicts, hampering their reintegration.

Legal developments

The issue of child soldiers is certainly grabbing more attention lately. On Thursday, Charles Taylor was found guilty by the Special Court of Sierra Leone (SCSL) of aiding and abetting murder, acts of violent sexual abuse and using child soldiers.

The SCSL is a pioneer in the prosecution of those responsible for the recruitment of child soldiers and forced marriages. But despite significant legal developments in this area, many girls in the armed forces remain invisible and marginalized.

The generally accepted, though not legally binding definition of child soldiers in the Cape Town Principles does not exclusively focus on children carrying arms. Girls recruited for sexual exploitation are included in the definition as well.

Stigmatization

Female child soldiers in Sierra Leone faced specific reintegration challenges: "A lot of them had been used as sex slaves and as the wives of commanders and the commanders never wanted them to go through the program because it would mean letting them go." David Lamin, Child Protection Specialist from UNICEF Sierra Leone told RNW.

Girls try to prevent stigmatization in their communities by keeping their pasts hidden. Sexually exploited girls are often thought of as immoral or unclean by community members.

"A lot of them feared that there was a lot of stigma. They were afraid and they wanted to keep very low profiles. They did not want people to know about them, they did not want people to know about their past", Lamin said.

Boys with amputated hands have a better chance of being accepted back in the community than girls who have been sexually victimized during their time in the armed forces, according to the report 'Where are the girls?' by Susan McKay from the University of Wyoming and Dyan Mazurana from the Tufts University.

Reintegration

Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programs in Sierra Leone, implemented by both national and international actors, were not designed with girl soldiers in mind. The programs often require child soldiers to hand in a weapon, excluding those not carrying guns.

"At the end of the disarmament and demobilization 6,845 children were demobilized of which 547 were girls, but a good number of the girls were left behind and did not go through the DDR program itself" Lamin said.

With DDR programs lacking focus on female child soldiers, many girls do not go through official reintegration programs after escaping or being released from armed forces. As a consequence, observers say, many end up working as prostitutes.

Special focus on girls

After the Sierra Leonean DDR program failed to respond adequately to the needs of girls, a special outreach programs implemented by UNICEF picked up the issue. "Without the outreach most likely the girls would not have been helped" Lamin said.

Despite the numerous problems girl soldiers face, their needs are often not addressed. Unfortunately, the unique problem of female child soldiers is neither tackled by the 'Kony 2012' campaign nor in the verdict against Charles Taylor.