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Psychological Effect Of Conflict/violence On Women And Children
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1.2 Statement of the Problem
Violent conflict is one of
the most important development challenges facing the world today.
Although the incidence of civil wars has decreased in recent years
(Harbom and Wallensteen 2009), the legacy of violence persists across
many countries around the world, especially in Africa, Caucasia, the
Balkans, and the Middle East. The economic, political and social
consequences of civil wars are immense. War displaces population,
destroys capital and infrastructure, disrupts schooling, damages the
social fabric, endangers civil liberties, and creates health and famine
crises. Almost 750,000 people die as a result of armed conflict each
year (Geneva Declaration Secretariat 2008), and more than 20 million
people were internally displaced by civil wars at the end of 2007 (UNHCR
2008). Any of these effects will have considerable consequences for
long-term development outcomes, including the educational attainment of
populations exposed to violence. Yet while there is a growing consensus
that development interventions and the promotion of democracy worldwide
cannot be disassociated from the restrictions caused by violent
conflict, we have limited rigorous evidence on the consequences of
violent conflict on the lives of people exposed to violence. The
microeconomic impact of war on civilian populations can be substantial
and persistent. Not only do people living in war zones suffer injuries,
death and have their property destroyed, they may also be displaced from
their homes and lose their means of survival. Children are especially
adversely affected by the destruction of physical capital and the
deterioration of economic conditions given the age-specific aspects of
many human capital investments. Civil wars and associated physical
destruction can interrupt the education of children through the damage
to schools, absence of teachers, fears of insecurity and changes in
family structures and household income. Children can also be negatively
affected by the worsening of their health due to the association of
violent conflict with famines, widespread malnutrition, and outbreaks of
infectious diseases, post-war trauma, and the destruction of health
facilities. The destruction of human capital during childhood is a
well-documented mechanism leading to poverty traps, given the severe
long-
run effects it can have on individual and household welfare via
the future labor market outcomes and economic performance of affected
children (see Mincer 1974, Shultz 1961 and Becker 1962). These
micro-level effects of civil wars remain largely under-researched. The
problem confronting this research therefore is to investigate the
psychological effect of conflict and violence on women and children.
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