Children who clean and cook or who are used for sexual exploitation in the conflict context are also considered child soldiers.

Children who are forced to join armed groups by coercion, abduction, violence or threat of violence are also considered to have been trafficked. The majority of child soldiers are trafficking victims.

No exact figures on child soldiers are available but it is believed that tens of thousands of children are forcibly recruited to be child soldiers in conflicts around the world.

It is estimated that one third of all child soldiers are girls who are primarily forced to provide sexual services. Some are also forced into combat.

Displaced, orphaned and homeless children are some of the most vulnerable. Children living in conflict areas are also kidnapped or forcibly recruited while at school or at home with their families.

Child soldiers are usually put through brutal indoctrination processes. This includes physical violence, torture, making them watch killings, disfiguring their family members, or forcing them to kill.

Female child soldiers face the risk of repeated rape, sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies.

Many child soldiers experience psychological trauma. Often they return from war suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, severe depression or other mental health issues.

The lack of a normal childhood, the exposure to extreme violence and the stigmatization child soldiers face make reintegration difficult.