Not All Girls: Addressing Sexual and Violence-related Stigmatisations Of Former Female Child Soldiers and Children Born of War in Sahelian Crisis Mali

Sammanfattning: Non-state armed groups in Mali have recruited female child soldiers for the past 12 years in its Central and Northern regions. Some of these now-former female child soldiers (FFCS) have given birth to children of these combatants, so-called “Children Born of War” (CBOW). Both mothers and their children may experience sexual (ex. gender-based violence) and violence-related (ex. fear) stigmas in their communities due to their associations with violent non-state armed groups. However, there exists little research on the needs and kinds of assistance FFCS and CBOW receive in Mali, especially from aid programmes by humanitarian INGOs. Considering Mali’s struggle to provide basic social services to much of its general population, and the severe stigmatisation affecting FFCS’ and CBOW’s rights to school and work, this thesis explores whether and, if so, how humanitarian INGOs provide educational and economic aid to FFCS and CBOW in Mali. Based on the mix-methods approach, a quantitative and qualitative analysis of FFCS and CBOW mentions in humanitarian INGOs’ educational and economic programmes, this thesis investigates to which degree these programmes recognise and address sexual and violence-related stigmas FFCS and CBOW experience. The results demonstrate (1) the studied INGOs do not recognise the identities of FFCS or CBOW as distinct groups and (2) programmes addressing gender-based violence and sexual stigmas neglect violence-related stigmas. These findings call for more targeted FFCS and CBOW Inclusion in INGO programming, and the augmentation of community sensitisation activities to heal the traumas experienced by FFCS, CBOW, and their communities.