The construction of gender in child soldiering in the Special Court for Sierra Leone

Abstract

The Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) was the first international criminal tribunal to prosecute and convict individuals for the war crime of recruitment and use of child soldiers. This Chapter examines the narratives that emerged from the SCSL with respect to boy and girl soldiers. The SCSL’s transcripts and judgments reveal that the soldiering experience was highly gendered for both boys and girls. Silences arose, however. The SCSL did not examine sexual violence committed against these boys, for example. The testimony provided by girls affiliated with the AFRC and RUF demonstrated that these groups targeted girls to serve as fighters, but also to function within a gendered socio-economic caregiving structure to cook, clean, launder and act as sexual slaves for the fighters. Additionally, girls were commonly subjected to sexual violence. Far fewer girls than boys however testified at the SCSL about their training and combat experiences. This Chapter concludes that the SCSL is rightfully lauded for ‘surfacing’ the gendered experiences of children affiliated with armed groups in Sierra Leone. At the same time, future tribunals need to be alert to gender ‘blind spots’, so as to render all child soldiers visible.