Julia Villanueva O’Driscoll Gerrit Loots Ilse Derluyn Children Disengaged from Armed Groups in Colombia: Integration Processes in Context Versita Discipline: Psychology Managing Editor: Aneta Przepiórka Language Editor: Matthew Coleshill Published by Versita, Versita Ltd, 78 York Street, London W1H 1DP, Great Britain. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivs 3.0 license, which means that the text may be used for non-commercial purposes, provided credit is given to the author. Copyright © 2013 Julia Villanueva O’Driscoll, Gerrit Loots, Ilse Derluyn ISBN (paperback): 978-83-7656-042-7 ISBN (hardcover): 978-83-7656-043-4 ISBN (for electronic copy): 978-83-7656-044-1 Managing Editor: Aneta Przepiórka Language Editor: Matthew Coleshill www.versita.com Cover illustration: © Chiel Van Hoeij Contents Acknowledgements ......................................................................................... 11 Preface ................................................................................................................ 13 Chapter 1 Introduction ..................................................................................... 19 1. Child Soldiers: a Phenomenon .........................................................................................20 2. Colombia ......................................................................................................................................21 3. Research Methodology .........................................................................................................22 3.1. Study Population ............................................................................................................22 3.2. Study Design ....................................................................................................................24 3.3. Study Data and Analysis .............................................................................................25 Chapter 2 Historical, Sociopolitical and Geographical Background .................. 27 1. A Glance at the Conflict Dynamics. ................................................................................27 2. Demobilizing Processes and Peace Agreements ....................................................32 3. Armed Groups Involved in the Conflict ........................................................................35 3.1. Regular Forces .................................................................................................................35 3.2. Irregular Groups ..............................................................................................................36 3.2.1. Guerrilla Groups ................................................................................................36 3.2.2. Paramilitary Groups .........................................................................................37 3.2.3. New Groups .........................................................................................................37 4. The Sociogeographical Situation and its Diversity ................................................39 4.1. Bogotá (Capital District) ..............................................................................................41 4.2. Medellín (Antioquia) .....................................................................................................42 4.3. San Juan de Pasto (Nariño)........................................................................................45 4.4. Cartagena de Indias (Bolívar) ...................................................................................46 5. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................48 Chapter 3 Children in Colombia ....................................................................... 49 1. Childhood ....................................................................................................................................49 2. Living in a War-torn Country .............................................................................................51 2.1. Speaking in Figures .......................................................................................................51 2.2. Proximity of the Conflict.............................................................................................53 2.3. A Population in Violated Situations ......................................................................53 2.3.1. “Los desaparecidos” (The Missing) ..........................................................55 2.3.2. “Los secuestrados” (The Abducted) ........................................................56 2.3.3. Human Trafficking .............................................................................................57 2.3.4. “Los amenazados” (The Threatened) ......................................................57 2.3.5. “Los desplazados” (The Displaced) .........................................................58 3. Risks Factors for Engaging With Armed Groups ......................................................62 3.1. Poverty .................................................................................................................................62 3.2. Violence ..............................................................................................................................64 3.3. Family ...................................................................................................................................66 3.4. Education ...........................................................................................................................67 4. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................69 Chapter 4 Children Engaged With Armed Groups ............................................. 71 1. Introduction ...............................................................................................................................71 2. Concept of Former Child Soldiers ...................................................................................73 3. Number of Children Engaged With Armed Groups ................................................75 4. Illegal, Legal, Regular, Irregular, Emergent, Organised, Criminal, … Armed Groups Engaging Children ..................................................................................................77 5. Motivation for Engaging With Armed Groups...........................................................79 5.1. Environment Sphere .....................................................................................................80 5.1.1. Societal Circumstances: Lack of Opportunities .................................80 5.1.2. Fulfilling Children’s Rights: a Responsibility of the State ............81 5.1.3. A Military Culture and Prestige ..................................................................82 5.2. Armed Group Sphere ...................................................................................................85 5.2.1. Presence of Armed Group ............................................................................85 5.2.2. Recruitment as a Military Strategy ...........................................................86 5.2.3. Emotional Availability ....................................................................................88 5.2.4. Availability of Opportunities.......................................................................88 5.3. Family Sphere ..................................................................................................................90 5.3.1. Difficult Family Conditions ...........................................................................90 5.3.2. Lack of a Protection Shield and Abuse ..................................................91 5.3.3. Family Culture .....................................................................................................92 5.4. Personal Sphere ..............................................................................................................92 5.4.1. Difficult Past ........................................................................................................92 5.4.2. A Stage in Life .....................................................................................................93 5.5. In Summary .......................................................................................................................94 6. Way of Entering ........................................................................................................................96 6.1. Voluntary: Undertaken of One’s Own Free Will ..............................................98 6.2. Forcibly: Against One’s Will ...................................................................................100 7. Dynamics in the Group ......................................................................................................101 7.1. Activities ..........................................................................................................................101 7.2. Discipline ........................................................................................................................103 7.3. Relationships .................................................................................................................104 7.4. Sexual Relations ..........................................................................................................105