NCPA sets out comprehensive ten year plan to prevent child abuse

by Rosanne Koelmeyer Anderson

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‘If as George Elliot said ‘In a man whose childhood has known caresses and kindness there is always a fibre of memory that can be touched to gentle issues’: wonder if there could be such disdain and unscrupulous acts: the truth is often bitter and poignant. Child abuse is a sensitive issue. The best answer for a better tomorrow for ‘Prevention is better than cure’.

Chairman of the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) Jagath Wellawatte in an interview with the Sunday Observer said its main task was the implementation of a plan for the next decade to ensure prevention of child abuse in all parts of the country.

A corporate plan has been drawn up for the next five years at different levels namely at village level to identify vulnerable risk groups especially children of migrant mothers, children who come from homes of abusive parents and those who indulge other nefarious activities which make children vulnerable to abuse.

Volunteers are sent even now to monitor and work in collaboration with the already existing village committees. The Chairman hopes to build a strong network with the implementation of this corporate plan.

The NCPA’s plan will also set up 1550 School Children’s’ Protection Committees within this time frame. Once such committee has already commenced operations in the Moneragala district and the next will be set up in Anuradhapura in two weeks.

Under Act No 16 of the Special Provisions Act the NCPA has been vested with the responsibility of tsunami affected children.

The NCPA has completed monitoring in the Galle district as well as the Western Province presently and is expected to commence monitoring in the Matara and Hambantota districts shortly, the Chairman said. Meanwhile, ADB has agreed to fund a plan for vocational training for these children in a sum of 400m, he added.

Vocational training will be provided to these children and bank accounts will be opened with an initial deposit of Rs 5000 with the Banks of Ceylon with medical insurance and life policies too. Resource centres too will be started in the Kurunegala, Puttalam, Ampara, Arugam Bay, Batticoloa and Trincomalee districts.

Meanwhile, Former Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Child Protection and founder of the National Child Protection Authority, Prof. Harendra de Silva, a Consultant Paediatrician by profession said the body was initially set up in 1996 as the Presidential Task Force on Child Protection and it was in June 1999 on recommendations of the already existing body that the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) was set up. Prof de Silva had served as Chairman of the NCPA until 2005 having completed the mandate of six years with two three year terms.

The NCPA basically deals with four main areas as in awareness and imparting knowledge to parents that children are vulnerable to abuse and how parents and guardians should protect their children from the abuser; how children could protect themselves from abuse by teachers, van drivers, domestics and even by elders in the home; for the perpetrator is often the person whom the child trusts most and is closest to, Prof De Silva explained.

The second aspect with which the NCPA was set up was to deal with enhancing development skills of persons directly connected with handling the abused like the doctors, psychiatrists, lawyers, the Police regularly so that they may easily recognize and diagnose the abused child. This is very important in the best interest of the child, Prof de Silva added.

Thirdly, Prof de Silva says identifying and protecting children who are most susceptible to abuse like child soldiers and those in Children’s Homes, hostels was one of NPCA’s concerns. Monitoring legal enforcement in child abuse cases before courts of law as well as monitoring the necessity to change or make amendments to laws was yet another objective of the NCPA.

The NCPA from its inception has been a body which had been involved in researching and making sure that human resources are adequately used and steered the coordination of all Child Protection centres around the country.

Prof Harendra de Silva is working with the Child and Youth Development Welfare Centre at Seenigama, Dadella and China Gardens in Galle which function as drop in centres where children come in after school and read newspapers, use computers, take sewing classes and spend their time making handmade cards, wall hangings and handicrafts which are sold in order to help them earn too.

They are provided tills and savings accounts are opened for them encouraging them to save and make use of it as a vocational investment whenever needed. Prof de Silva says that he had introduced this concept at these three centres in order to prevent youth from being on the streets and getting into unwarranted trouble.

‘For the country to develop we have to make sure that there is professional input with the work we are doing; planning and monitoring. A very strong administrative service has to be administered. To be successful in any sphere we have to have a multi-disciplinary approach and continuous team work is the key to success’, he added.

Meanwhile, Escape, an organization which has been working in collaboration with the NCPA, the Probation Authority, Juvenile Courts and the Children’s Homes for the past thirteen years on matters relating to child abuse and runs a government certified school at Ranmutugala too has responded immensely towards combating child abuse.

Dr Rajan Rajasingham of Escape told the Sunday Observer that after court cases are taken up, if the abused children are not in a position to go back home for some reason or if they have been caught in prostitution, children are taken to the Ranmutugala school and taken care of up to the age of about eighteen or nineteen or until it is safe enough for them to return to their homes.

Escape’s centre at Station Road Dehiwela and Badulla however are operated as day centres where children are brought in for 2-3 hour sessions of therapy and counselling with psychologists who support the survivor overcome abuse.

This centre also provides support to families, training to school teachers and others who deal with children, conduct awareness programmes, provide advocacy for children’s rights, conduct children’s forums to involve children in decision making and respite residential care too free of charge if needed.

Officer in Charge of Special Police Investigation Unit of the NCPA, W.D. T. Wijesena revealed that for the year 2007 there had been about 450 cases which were handled by this special Police Investigations unit .

This unit was established under Act No. 50 of 1998 of the NCPA and authorizes special investigations to be conducted by authorized officers into cases of child abuse. Evidence in all such cases are video recorded by specially trained officers and thereafter cases are filed in the Juvenile Courts.

Child sexual abuse is a punishable offence under Section 365(a) of the amendment to the Penal Code while Sections 365(b) deals with grave sexual abuse, Section 364(a) with incest, Section 286(a) child pornography and Section 360(b) with sexual exploitation of children.