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War has become a regular part of life for many children. Millions are victims and witnesses to the horrors of war. Recent estimates by researchers at the Peace Research Institute Oslo show that one in six children globally lives in a conflict zone, and Africa has the highest number of conflict-affected children.

Many children are forced to become child soldiers. In other cases, such as during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, violence is aimed at children.

In recent years, researchers from various fields have been studying the impact on children of growing up in war zones. Psychologists, for example, have been researching how conflict affects children's mental health and behavior. Economists have examined, among other issues, how growing up in these environments can limit future earning capabilities. Other scholars have investigated how war shapes the long-term (political) attitudes of these children.

Despite this growing body of research, we—a group of researchers who look into the causes and consequences of armed conflict for children—spotted two key gaps.

First, much of the literature treats children's experiences as if they were the same across different contexts. Few studies have considered the distinct experiences of girls as soldiers or how these differ from boys' experiences.

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