The exclusion of girls is an issue of great concern when studying the impact of war on individuals in any country affected by armed conflicts. Colombia, for instance, is currently facing an armed conflict and dealing with the issue of child soldiers’ recruitment. This country was the research site of the present study whose main focus was the experiences that girls lived before, during and after their lives as soldiers. Drawing on the Human Security and Gender and Development theoretical frameworks, the main goal of this research was to explore how girl soldiers’ experiences shaped their agency. As it will be demonstrated, girls are not passive individuals, but agents of their own development. They want to participate in the healing of their past, as well as in the transformation of their present and their future; therefore their voices should be heard.

Angola is a country that faced 27 years of conflict, from 2002 facing its peaceful moments. The situation with former girls soldiers during this process is not appropriately addressed, and this brings reflection on both human rights and development structure. The unknown social reintegrations done by Christian Child Fund Angola was responsible for solving those problems. Those pioneer solutions resolved the issue during and after the conflicts. Former girls soldiers need to be recognised in the current Law of Former and Disable Combatants. A vector of rights for the public health framework looks at the holistic structure of former girls soldiers and the needs that should follow to reintegrate this group since they are marginalised. The study is based on qualitative research and an abductive approach. Therefore, a vector of rights approach for public health framework was used focusing on the social reintegration programs done by CCF Angola together with other actors. This will reflect on the law of former combatants, which is a direct result of the formal DDR Program. The results show that there are still women, former girls soldiers that were not reintegrated yet and still marginalized in the current social context. The State needs to revise the Law 13/02 favouring former girl ex-combatants since the reintegration process done by CCF/Angola matches the UN International Human Rights Standards for Law Enforcement.