Assistant Professor Charli Carpenter travels to New York to brief the
United Nations Office of the Special Representative for Children and
Armed Conflict
Assistant Professor Charli Carpenter traveled to New York on June 5, 2008 to brief the United Nations Office of the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict on children born of war. Her presentation was entitled "Protecting Children Born of Sexual Violence and Exploitation in Conflict Zones."
Sexual violence and exploitation is endemic in war-affected regions, and children are often born as a result. It has been estimated that tens of thousands of babies have been born as a result from mass rape campaigns or sexual exploitation during times of war in the last decade. According to anecdotal reports and focus groups with humanitarian practitioners, these "children born of war" often face stigma, discrimination, and even infanticide. Yet very little systematic data exists assessing their status and fate from a child protection perspective. Carpenter's briefing will argue that this should change.
Carpenter has done a significant amount of research on children born of war. Her book Innocent Women and Children: Gender, Norms and the Protection of Civilians was published in 2006 and Born of War: Sexual Violence, Children's Human Rights and the Global Community was published in 2007. For more information on her research and publications, visit www.pitt.edu/~charli.
|
