A/HRC/21/38 immediate and direct victims of the crime and their families, including the victims of forced recruitment and the victims and families of the crimes committed by the armed group. Moreover, an assessment of the current needs of the victims is crucial as several years may have passed since the events took place. 32. Any reparations process should consist of a combination of reparative measures, including individual, collective and community-based initiatives. The range of reparations spans from material (such as cash payments, access to education and health care, and skills training) to symbolic (such as public acknowledgements and memorials). For various reasons, lump-sum payments may not be the ideal form of reparations. Violations of children’s rights most often lead to lost opportunities, such as loss of schooling, family and livelihood. Accordingly, other reparation benefits, such as education programmes, physical rehabilitation, skills training and the provision of psychosocial support may be more restorative alternatives. In addition, community-based reparations, with a focus on reconciliation, may help to reduce tensions within and across communities. In this context, a project-based approach, involving communities in livelihood and infrastructure initiatives, may be a useful option, but should avoid overlap with regular development programmes. 33. Reparations programmes should bear in mind that victims who were children at the time of the commission of the violation may face stigmatization or marginalization as former child soldiers or forced wives, leading to the social exclusion of, in particular, girl child soldiers. Community members may also resent former child soldiers, who they feel are being rewarded for having taken part in hostilities, thus reinforcing existing divisions. The child perpetrator dilemma tends to be confusing for both the child and those who may have been their victims. Reparations, however, could also assist in signalling that past modes of operation will no longer be tolerated and could contribute to dismantling the relationship between former commanders and their victims. A public statement by community leaders on the legal findings of responsibility, followed by an intensive awareness-raising campaign on the judgement and a declaration to the effect that child victims of recruitment should not be held legally or morally responsible for their actions as combatants during the conflict, would be the best guarantee of non-repetition. VI. Prevention of child recruitment 34. Children become associated with armed forces and groups for various reasons. In some situations, they are forcibly recruited or abducted by armed elements, or coerced and intimidated into joining them. Recruitment of children also takes place in the context of poverty, discrimination, revenge and loyalty to an ethnic, religious or tribal group. Often, insecurity and displacement propel children, especially those who have become separated from their families, to voluntarily join an armed group for protection and survival. 35. Given the complex set of factors influencing child recruitment, prevention strategies, to be successful, require a holistic approach and should be conducted by a variety of actors at the local, national and international levels. From a broad perspective, three prevention strategies can be identified: effective legal prevention mechanisms at the national level, strengthening community protection mechanisms at the local level, and providing children with alternatives. Development, dissemination and enforcement of the law 36. The criminalization of under-age recruitment and the domestication of international norms and standards against the recruitment and use of children are crucial measures for the prevention of under-age recruitment. It is crucial that States enact legislation to explicitly criminalize under-age recruitment and use of children by armed forces and groups in their penal codes. Effective criminalization can be hindered by amnesties and de facto 10