Vastapuu, Leena --- "How to find the 'hidden' girl soldier? Two sets of suggestions arising from Liberia" [2019] ELECD 1724; in Drumbl, A. Mark; Barrett, C. Jastine (eds), "Research Handbook on Child Soldiers" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019) 493

Book Title: Research Handbook on Child Soldiers

Editor(s): Drumbl, A. Mark; Barrett, C. Jastine

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Section: Chapter 23

Section Title: How to find the ‘hidden’ girl soldier? Two sets of suggestions arising from Liberia

Author(s): Vastapuu, Leena

Number of pages: 19

Abstract/Description:

Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programmes risk leaving girl soldiers behind. Even though the reasons behind the voluntary and/or involuntary exclusion of girl soldiers are widely understood, informal exchanges with current DDR practitioners suggest that there remains an acute need to record easily applicable methods for tracing the ‘hidden’ girl soldier in various conflict surroundings around the world. This chapter draws from a data set comprising 133 semi-structured interviews and 25 auto-photographic interviews conducted with former girl soldiers in Liberia between 2012 and 2014. The chapter provides two sets of suggestions on how (and how not) to address the challenge of the invisible girl soldier. The first substantive part of the chapter is targeted primarily at academic researchers wishing to undertake empirical fieldwork on the ground. In addition to a practical discussion that leans on autobiographical field notes and research journals, some of the numerous challenges and contradictions of the ‘do no harm’ principle are addressed. The second part provides practical interview tips, in particular for DDR officers undertaking screening interviews in conflict sites themselves.