By Anas al-Bar | 2025-06-04

Yazidi boys who were captured as children by the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS), indoctrinated with its violent extremist ideology and even forced to fight, are still struggling with the trauma, according to a new report.

"These boys were not merely collateral victims," analyst Victoria Maldonado wrote in a May 15 report published by the Georgetown Security Studies Review.

"But rather, ISIS targeted them as a means to perpetuate genocide through forced assimilation and indoctrination."

Many children returned speaking Arabic instead of Kurdish, the report said, creating additional barriers to family reunification and community reintegration, with some having forgotten their native Kurmanji entirely.

In a clinical study published by the British Journal of Psychiatry in 2018, the psychological effect of traumatic events was assessed in 81 Yazidi children who had been child soldiers for ISIS between 2014 and 2017 for at least six months.

Nearly half the boys, then between the ages of 8 and 14, met criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder, the study said, with similarly high rates of depression and anxiety disorders.

"Children in ISIS captivity endured torture, violence and slavery," said Iraqi MP Vian Dakhil, who represents the Yazidis in parliament. "Boys were forced into training camps while girls faced sexual abuse."

"Everyone was forced to erase their identity, language, and past through forced indoctrination and the poisoning of minds with extremist ideas and beliefs," she told Al-Fassel.

Recovery and rehabilitation has proven especially difficult for those abducted at a young age, Dakhil said.

Road to recovery

In displacement camps across Iraq's Dohuk province, volunteers and psychotherapists are working to help hundreds of survivors heal and reintegrate into their communities through specialized rehabilitation programs.

These aim to address aggressive behaviors, isolation, mood disorders and recurring flashbacks to their traumatic experiences.

Activities include group recreational activities such as drawing, singing and outdoor sports, program volunteer Hazem Khalil told Al-Fassel.

Intensive counseling and one-on-one support helps them restore their self-confidence, overcome painful memories, and look toward the future, he said.

Rehabilitation efforts focus heavily on countering ISIS's influence.

"We are trying to develop their hobbies, feed them with sound ideas, and uproot the lies and poisons of ISIS's terrorist ideology," Khalil said.

Several civil society organizations are now providing treatment for children suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Dakhil said, "especially those who lost limbs or witnessed massacres of their relatives."

Yazidis are also calling for the government to provide comprehensive care and compensation for all ISIS victims, Khalil said, noting that neglect and marginalization could make traumatized survivors vulnerable to future violence.