Armed conflicts and gender perspective: Media representation of girls' soldiers

Abstract

The United Nations estimates there are 300,000 child soldiers in conflicts around the world. According to the UN, in 2018, recruitment of child soldiers increased in several countries, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic. Recruitment activities attained an alarming level in South Sudan and Somalia. However, academic literature and media have not devoted enough coverage to this critical issue, in particular with regard to child soldiers' media coverage from a gender perspective. This project sought to study girl soldiers' representation within the frame of two African conflicts: Southern Sudan and the Central African Republic. The study entailed a qualitative analysis of these conflicts in two quality newspapers: The Guardian and Le Monde from 2011 to 2017. The results showed that the discursive presence of girl soldiers in the articles analysed is very limited in comparison to that of boy soldiers. Girl soldiers are mainly represented as victims of sexual abuse rather than in the role of supposedly male combatants. In addition, minimal coverage relating to positive news, such as girls' rehabilitation processes, was also highlighted.