About the study
The COAV International Study was coordinated by the NGO Viva Rio (Brazil) and IANSA (International Action Net on Small Arms), with the collaboration of Save the Children Sweden, the Ford Foundation and DFID.
The study proposal was the result of a gathering of international experts on child protection issues and armed conflict in Rio de Janeiro for the Seminar on Children Affected by Organised Armed Violence in September 2002. Participants recognized COAV as a global problem and identified the needed for further information on COAV so that it can be better addressed in international forums.
Based on available information and after consulting with child protection experts, Viva Rio selected 10 regions (Jamaica, El Salvador, Ecuador, Honduras, Philippines, Nigeria, South Africa, USA, Northern Ireland and Colombia) where adolescents are involved in organised armed violence and established a global network of locally based NGO’s to carry out an initial rapid assessment study.
The research parameters were based on the working definition approved by international experts, in which children in organised armed violence are: children and youth employed by or otherwise participating in organised armed violence (where there are elements of a command structure and power over territory, local population and/or resources, in non war situations).
The results of the research study were published in an international report launched in 2005.
Objectives
The principal study objective was to introduce the concept of ‘Children in Organised Armed Violence’ to national and international child defense organizations. The availability of further information and data regarding specific manifestations of the problem in different areas of the world is fundamental for this goal to be achieved. The specific study objectives are the following:
- Identify regions/countries affected
- Train researchers to carry out the study in each area selected
- Identify regional and global tendencies regarding the issue
- Educate the international community on the issue
- Highlight successful actions and share best practices among the different study regions
- Inform and educate international public policymakers in order to implement practical measures to protect children in organised armed violence
Training
Project researchers from the selected regions participated in a training workshop in Rio de Janeiro in July 2003. At the workshop, they were trained in how to carry out a situation analysis; identification of relevant social programs; necessary security precautions; how to approach and interview children involved in armed violence; data collection (including interviews with children and other informants and access to relevant governmental agencies); and data analysis.
Calendar
July 2003 – Training Workshop for researchers in Rio de Janeiro.
2003/2004 – research study development, according to the following stages:
1 – Field studies and case studies
2 – Interviews with children and other informants
3 – Gathering of relevant statistics
4 – Identification of relevant social programs that address the topic
2005 – Publication of the International Report.
The COAV International Research on children in organized armed violence was carried out by respected organizations that work with armed children and youth in the 11 study countries. Here you will know more about our local partners.
Colombia
Partner: Coalición Contra la Vinculación de Niños, Niñas y Jóvenes al Conflicto Armado en Colombia
Researcher: Ivan Ramirez
Coordinator of the Project “Children, Violence, Conflict and Public Policies”, Ramirez also provides support to the Colombian Campaign against Anti Personnel Mines. He is on the staff of the Equality and Development Project of the Popular Training Institute. He researches and has published on: youth and the armed conflict; conflict and territory in Medellín; arms and human rights; and the impact of the armed conflict on children and youth.
El Salvador
Partner: Universidad Centroamericana "José Simeón Cañas", Instituto Universitario de Opinión Pública
Researcher: Marlon Carranza
Researcher and analyst for the Public Opinion Institute of the Central American University José Simeón Cañas. Responsible for the third phase in the regional study “Maras and Gangs in Central America: Rehabilitation Experiences and Public Policies”.
Ecuador
Partner: Ser Paz (Guayaquil)
Researcher: Kleber Loor
Coordinator of the NGO Ser Paz and member of the research team that enabled the identification of more than 150 gangs and “naciones,” contact with gang leaders, and knowledge of gang cultural dynamics, organization, and leadership.
Honduras
Partner: Casa Alianza e Jha-Ja (Jóvenes Hondureños Adelante, Juntos Avancemos)
Researcher: Ernesto Bardales
Jamaica
Partner: University of the West Indies (Mona Campus)
Researcher: Ngozi McKenzie
Research assistant for Dr. Anthony Harriott at the University of West Indies. Ngozi also works as a staff associate at the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands and at the Institute for Theological and Leadership Development as a research supervisor.
Nigeria
Partner: Centre for Democracy & Development
Researcher: Mohammed Ibrahim
Programme/Research Officer with the Centre for Democracy and Development in Lagos, Nigeria. His areas of interest are the study of democracy, conflict analysis and peace building, human rights and humanitarian assistance.
Northern Ireland
Partner: Institute for Conflict Research
Researcher: Marie Smyth
Chief Executive and founder director of the Institute for Conflict Research, an independent research organisation based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She has also been on the academic staff of the School of Community Studies of the University of Ulster since 1985. She has worked in Northern Ireland, West and South Africa on the impact of war and conflict, conflict management and on innovation in research methods and ethics.
Philippines
Partner: Center for Integrative and Development Studies, Psychosocial Trauma and Human Rights Program
Researcher: Agnes Zenaida V. Camacho
Programme Officer and Research Fellow of University of the Philippines' Centre for Integrative and Development Studies-Program on Psychosocial Trauma and Human Rights. She completed studies and published researches and articles on topics relating to child labour, child abuse, children in the sex industry, trafficking, child soldiers, and children in situations of armed conflict.
South Africa
Partner: Institute for Security Studies Crime and Justice Programme
Researcher: Ted Leggett
In 2001, he joined the Institute for Security Studies, where he has been involved in ethnographic and survey work on the South African Police Service. His present work includes both qualitative and quantitative research in the gang lands of the Cape Flats, a comparative South African/South American crime and justice project, and is currently editing a book on migration and crime.
United States
Partner: University of Illinois-Chicago, Dept. of Criminal Justice
Researcher: John Hagedorn
Author of "People & Folks, Gangs, Crime, and the Underclass in a Rustbelt City", which re-framed the study of gangs in the United States by focusing on the impact of deindustrialization. Responsible for the website about gangs http://www.gangresearch.net.
