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• an estimated
300,000 children under 18 - some as young as seven - are fighting today in
armed conflicts. [COALITION TO STOP THE USE OF CHILD SOLDIERS, 1998] • two million children lost their lives in conflict in the decade 1985-1995. [UNICEF, 1996] • one million children were separate from their parents by conflict in the. same period [UNICEF, 1996] • between four and five million children were disabled or maimed by conflict in the same period. [UNICEF, 1996] • nine out of ten people killed in modern-day wars are civilians, most of them women and children. • there are an estimated 110 million active landmines in over 70 countries Around 2,000 people - many of them children - are involved in landmine accidents every month. Around 800 c these will die; the rest will be maimed [LANDMINES MUST BE STOPPED, ICRC, 1997] • in the UK, babies under one year old are four times more likely to be murder victims than any other age group. [GULBENKIAN FOUNDATION, 1995] • in the UK, one child in six has suffered from violent punishment in the home. And one in three 12- to 15-year-olds say they have been assaulted outside their homes by adults or other children. [GULBENKIAN FOUNDATION, 1995] • it's impossible to give a global figure for the number of children who are sexually exploited. But this form of violence affects children in most, if not all, countries. [KIDS FOR HIRE, SAVE THE CHILDREN, 1996] • worldwide, 50 million people have been forced from their homes by war and conflict. Of these, over 13 million are classed as refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Children usually make up more than half of refugee populations. [UNHCR, 1994 AND 1997] • certain groups of children are particularly at risk of violence. They include disabled children and some ethnic and religious groups. [GULBENKIAN FOUNDATION, 1995] |
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