Irma Specht & Larry Attree, “The reintegration of teenage girls and young women”, Intervention, 2006, Volume 4, No. 3, pp. 219-228.

Women combatants are not a homogeneous group. The current approach of many Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programmes is inappropriate for girls between 14 and 25 years of age. In order to provide reintegration assistance that has a significant long-term impact, it is essential first to understand why girls join the armed forces. Before DDR programme plans are finalized and programmes started, time and resources need to be invested firstly to locate the girls, and then begin the process of understanding their potentials, vulnerabilities, dreams and ambitions.

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