Poverty and lack of education are pushing boys into joining armed groups and forcing girls to marry way before they should, warns Virginia Gamba, UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict.  

Her latest report documents more than 27,000 instances of grave violations against children caught up in war, including use in conflict, killing and maiming, and rape and sexual violence. 

It also reveals a worrisome rise in attacks against schools, with nearly half carried out by government forces.

Ms. Gamba recently spoke to UN News’s Felipe De Carvalho about the main drivers of child recruitment and the unique challenges that conflict poses to children and education systems.