Armed conflicts continue to wreak havoc on children and families around the world with profound effects. In 2017, 420 million children—nearly one in five—were living in conflict-affected areas, an increase in 30 million from the previous year. The recent surge in war-induced migration, referred to as a “global refugee crisis” has made migration a highly politicized issue, with refugee populations and host countries facing unique challenges. We know from research related to asylum seeking families that it is vital to think about children and families in relation to what it means to stay together, what it means for parents to be separated from their children, and the kinds of everyday tensions that emerge in living in dangerous, insecure, and precarious circumstances. In Global Child, the authors draw on what they have learned through their collaborative undertakings, and highlight the unique features of participatory, arts-based, and socio-ecological approaches to studying war-affected children and families, demonstrating the collective strength as well as the limitations and ethical implications of such research. Building on work across the Global South and the Global North, this book aims to deepen an understanding of their tri-pillared approach, and the potential of this methodology for contributing to improved practices in working with war-affected children and their families.

MYRIAM DENOV is a full professor and holds the Canada Research Chair in Children, Families, and Armed Conflict at McGill University in Montreal. She is the author of Child Soldiers: Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front and co-editor of Children Affected by Armed Conflict: Theory, Method & Practice.

CLAUDIA MITCHELL is a Distinguished James McGill Professor in the faculty of education at McGill University. She is the co-author of Participatory Visual Methodologies and is the Editor-in-Chief of Girlhood Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal.

MARJORIE RABIAU is an associate professor in the School of Social Work at McGill University. She is a psychologist and a couple and family therapist.