Seminars for Women's Affairs Ministry officials

by L.S. Ananda WEDAARACHCHI

State officials should work closely with the people, understanding their problems and grievances, said Child Development and Women's Affairs Minister Tissa Karalliyadde.

The Ministry's field officers should visit the people without being confined to their office, so that the alarming incidents of child abuse and harassment of women could be checked, the Minister said.

Surveys have revealed that the culprits in most child abuse incidents are the victims' close relatives, he said.

A four-day residential program for the Ministry's field officers, Sumithuru Karana, will be held from tomorrow at the Mas Fabric Park, Thulhiriya. It will be the first in an islandwide seminar series to be organised by the Child Development and Women's Affairs Ministry with the cooperation of the National Consultancy Centre of the Social Services Ministry.