Desperate Measures: How Civilians Avoid Forced Recruitment During Ongoing Conflict

This research into action interview with Dr Joanne Richards explores how civilians in conflict-affected areas navigate and resist forced recruitment by armed groups. While prevention efforts typically focus on the armed actors or on voluntary recruitment, the report sheds light on the everyday strategies civilians employ to avoid abduction - from fleeing and hiding, to organizing community defenses. Drawing on criminological theories like ‘signal crimes’, the research reveals how forced recruitment sends powerful signals that shape civilian behaviour and community responses.

The findings offer important policy recommendations, including tailoring prevention strategies to local realities and extending support to both child and adult populations at risk. Importantly, it underscores the need to recognize civilian agency and incorporate it into broader efforts to reduce violence and protect civilians.

Citation: Joanne Richards, “Desperate Measures: How Civilians Avoid Forced Recruitment During Ongoing Conflict”, MEAC Research into Action, UNIDIR, Geneva, 2025, https://doi.org/10.37559/MEAC/25/07.