As someone who works primarily with unaccompanied minors let me just smash this continued women & children first myth re: refugees.— Congolesa Rice (@judeinlondon) 23 October 2016
1) women are always at risk in conflict. We tend to pay the highest price. There was an entire summit on this in 2014 by Angelina Jolie & UN— Congolesa Rice (@judeinlondon) 23 October 2016
2) so many refugees & minors happen to be male is largely because they're fleeing conscription into fighting. This isn't rocket science.— Congolesa Rice (@judeinlondon) 23 October 2016
3) there is a long and rich history of young boys & teenagers being roped into fighting wars they neither understand nor want part of.— Congolesa Rice (@judeinlondon) 23 October 2016
Families will send their at risk children away from war to give them a chance of survival. This is the first deployment of women & children.— Congolesa Rice (@judeinlondon) 23 October 2016
So if you live in a constantly under siege town where 14yr old boys are being rounded up to go& fight, you're gonna try to get then out.— Congolesa Rice (@judeinlondon) 23 October 2016
This isn't really groundbreaking information. The use of child soldiers is as old as time. So these young boys & men become the refugees we— Congolesa Rice (@judeinlondon) 23 October 2016
see. And they're just as vulnerable as women & young girls fleeing sexual violence in conflict. But because we have been conditioned to...— Congolesa Rice (@judeinlondon) 23 October 2016
