Delivering Interventions to Young People Exposed to War-Related Violence and Sexual Exploitation: Longstanding Struggles but Lasting Successes

This article outlines the impact of conflict and war-related sexual exploitation on young people’s mental health and explores some of the predisposing factors which contribute to this psychological distress. It then outlines how a lack of valid measures of psychological distress, limited research, diverse services, treatments and cultural practices, previous trauma, and a multitude of competing agencies can hamper mental health delivery in war-affected countries before explaining how using non-Western measures of distress, extensive preresearch preparation, cultural respect tinged with scepticism, a duty of care, and involving stakeholders in decision-making can mitigate these problems. Lastly, this article outlines one study that overcame the logistical, security, and educational challenges of service delivery and calls for further research on psychosocial interventions, dismantling studies of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions, and hybrid inventions which target both mental health and psychosocial need and fruitful partnerships between academic institutions and civil society organizations.