Capital punishment for child rape:

Proposal submitted to Cabinet

A proposal to effect Corporal punishment for child rape has been submitted to the Cabinet by the Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Affairs.

National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) Chairperson Anoma Dissanayake said Minister Tissa Karalliyadda submitted the proposal to the Cabinet. “Once it is approved by the Cabinet, the law can be passed in Parliament,” she said adding that the NCPA is handicapped due to lax laws in the field of child protection.

“Capital punishment is not suggested for rape per se as it may involve a love affair between two minors. A sexual act with a girl below 16 years, even with her consent, is construed as rape under our law.”

She said the death penalty has been proposed for more severe crimes such as gang rape, abduction and rape and raping children with instruments or in unnatural ways.

The Chairperson said the NCPA is also seeking amendments to the Bail Act governing child rape, to spell out tougher bail terms than which are currently in place, among other things.

There is intense social debate on the lenient laws which allow offenders to roam free and threaten victims and their families until a conviction is done.

-MF