ABSTRACT
One might imagine a straightforward model for understanding the reactions of children to ill-treatment – the younger the more vulnerable. Hunter-gatherer social groups are, and probably always were, small, with widely spaced births so that children have a great deal of contact with adults as they go about their daily life. In situations of abuse of individual children or even more strikingly, when children are caught up in warfare, analysis by psychologists, anthropologists and other social scientists may be seen at best a distraction, and at worst, a gross misuse of resources. Many women’s groups have emerged which are affiliated to the nationalist organizations. In contrast boys, in general, have had only very irregular schooling and have moved beyond parental control finding powerful leadership roles outside the traditional lines of adult authority which may make their reintegration into families and adult roles very difficult.
