Shocking statistics: Four to five children raped daily :

Deterrent punishment, the answer

by Ranil Wijayapala

'The Family Protects you'

The Ministry of Child Development and Women's Affairs will celebrate World Children's Day on October 1 at a function to be held at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Theatre under the patronage of First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa with the participation of Child Development and Women's Affairs Minister, Tissa Karaliyadda.

This year's World Children's Day will be celebrated under the theme ‘The Family Protects you’ as many children face unnecessary problems at present as they are distanced from their families.

A stamp and a First Day Cover to mark World Children's Day will also be issued on October 1. The Ministry has organised a program to construct at least one house in each district to be provided to children facing economic hardship and those without proper protection under the ‘Sithunila’ program. The keys of two houses will be handed over to two beneficiary families on October 1.

As Sri Lanka prepares to celebrate World Children's Day which falls on October 1, under the theme ‘The Family Protects you’ the situation faced by children in Sri Lanka is in the limelight as statistics show that four to five children are raped on a daily basis in Sri Lanka, despite the fact that the subject of combating child abuse is frequently discussed at various fora.

According to statistics tabled in Parliament in April 2013, 1,750 cases of child rape, and in 2012, 5,475 cases of child molestation and 1,194 cases of child abuse have been reported. This is a serious situation that has to be looked into by the authorities.

Apart from this, children in Sri Lanka are confronted with many other issues with no solution in sight.

The Ministry of Child Development and Women's Affairs, the premier body that looks into the issues of children in Sri Lanka laments that despite the discussions that have been going on for years, to combat the issue of child abuse and rape, nothing concrete has been done to overcome the situation.

Child Development and Women's Affairs, Minister, Tissa Karaliyadda in a hard-hitting interview with the Sunday Observer pointed out that his Ministry is engaged in a tedious task of educating the community, parents, pre-school teachers and teachers to prevent children from being raped or abused “But it looks as if these programs were not bearing fruit as child abuse crimes are on the rise. Everyday we hear sermons being delivered and thousands of people listening to them at places of worship. Religious leaders also highlight the need to protect children and take care of them but all this is to no avail because at the end of the day, all we hear is that some child has been abused or raped”, he said.

“Is there any reduction in child abuse or rape cases or for that matter any other crime? We feel that religious sermons have become a trend and in no way contributes towards spiritual development”, the Minister said.

“When one hears that an eight-year-old child has been raped by her father and religious dignitaries also committing crimes against children, there is something really wrong in our approach in solving this issue”, the Minister said.

“If we cannot achieve any progress with regard to combating child abuse and rape through religious and spiritual development what is left is to impose strict punishment to offenders in the case of child abuse and rape without allowing them to move freely in society thus giving a strong message to society ”, the Minister said.

Continuous attempts by the Ministry to impose deterrent punishment to offenders in child abuse and rape cases has become futile as legislation is still under review by the legal fraternity.

“We have sought legal redress to control this situation as we think that the legal system can play a major part in combating crimes against children. However, it is sad that there is disagreement on the part of the legal hierarchy to change existing laws to mete out severe punishment to offenders in child abuse and rape cases citing instances that it would create problem to people not really involved in such cases”, Minister Karaliyadda said.

He was of the view that the death sentence should be imposed on offenders of child abuse and rape cases irrespective of the position they held in society, but this is not being implemented.

“There are loopholes in the legal system for the accused in child abuse and rape cases to be granted bail by paying a minimal amount. The Deputy Mayor of Nuwara Eliya was accused of abusing six children and he has been given bail by the Courts. He has to appear before the Police every Sunday”, the Minister said.

On the other hand, the prolonged period taken by the Courts to hear child abuse cases has also contributed to the increase in such incidents in the country. Reports indicate that there are nearly 10,000 cases pending and still to be heard in the High Courts. It takes at least six to eight years for a hearing and to mete out justice to children who are subjected to abuse and rape.

“Some cases drag on for years until these children turn 18 or more. When these children reach this age they are reluctant to appear before Courts. When such a situation arises, parents withdraw the case. Then the offender is released putting the child in an embarrassing situation. Therefore, our efforts to control child abuse cases becomes futile in the face of such a situation. That is why I always say that offenders in child abuse cases should be given deterrent punishment”, the Minister said. As the situation is such ,President Mahinda Rajapaksa has given special instructions to the Attorney General's Department to expedite hearing of child abuse cases pending in Courts, the Minister said.

The Ministry of Child Development has also taken initiatives to solve issues of children in prison after taking a decision to transport them separately when they are produced in Courts, so that they won't be in contact with other prisoners.

“Otherwise these children go to Courts and mingle with prisoners who have committed grave crimes. Sometimes they have to travel on two or three days for a hearing along with these prisoners. We had discussions with Justice Ministry officials to provide separate transport for these children, because they are not criminals. They are victims and ave to be treated with care and concern”, the Minister said.

Minister Karaliyadda said the Ministry of Child Development and Women's Affairs is educating parents and adults not to handover guardianship as children were not safe with them.

“We are making every effort to keep mothers with children to ensure that they are brought up in a secure environment”, he said. “Our Ministry has requested that mothers should not be sent abroad as housemaids until their children complete 18 years. But this proposal received severe criticism from certain quarters. Therefore, we say to ban sending women abroad as housemaids until their children complete five years and also to send mothers abroad only if the children could be kept in a safe environment”, he said.

“Whatever the proposals we make to ensure that children in this country have a decent environment to live in, there is resistance from top Government officials and also from the legal fraternity ”, the Minister said.

He pointed out that laws regarding children are primitive as they were introduced decades or centuries ago and were not effective in this day and age. “As the Ministry of Child Development and Women's Affairs what we can do is bring in new laws to combat crimes committed against children and we have submitted them to the Attorney General's Department for their observations”, he said.

“We have requested the Attorney General's Department to expedite the processes. Now they are in the process of reviewing these laws and will submit them to parliament in the future”, he said.

Apart from combating crimes committed against children, the Ministry has also embarked on projects to ensure that children now living in Children's Homes are sent back to mainstream society after completing their age as skilled persons enabling them to lead better lives without being a burden to society.

To make this task a reality, the Child Development Ministry is having discussions with the Vocational Training and Skills Development Ministry to provide vocational training for children living in Children’s Homes to prepare them to face challenges in society when they go out of the Homes.

“What we expect from this program is to ensure that these children have required skills to do a job and earn their living once they are discharged from the Home. The Vocational Training and Skills Development Ministry agreed to provide required teachers and instructors to facilitate this process”, the Minister said.

The Probation and Childcare Department is conducting programs to get school dropped out back to the school providing them with required material to pursue their education. “We conducted so many programs in the estate sector and got children back to school by providing them with the necessary equipment. We could stop deploying these children in estates. Now these students are going to school. This program was conducted in cities also with the Sarvodaya movement. But there are instances where parents oppose our efforts to bring them back to school.

But we are making an effort to give them education and ensure that Sri Lanka has 100 percent literacy rate in 2015”, Minister Karaliyadda said.

“We can now act more effectively to ensure the rights of children as the Ministry has five officers attached to the Ministry of Child Development and Women's Affairs at each Divisional Secretariat. Out of that five officers two are committed to children's affairs”, the Minister said. “We are celebrate International Children's Day annually. But there is no point of celebrating the World Children's Day if we cannot close at least one children's home every year. That will be the progress that we can achieve. If we open more and more children's homes there is no point of celebrating the event on a grand scale”, he said commenting on Children's Day celebrations on October 1.

“There are so many events that are organised to celebrate Children's Day. Much money is being spent on these meaningless celebrations. At the same time there are many organisations under the pretext of ensuring the rights of children, disrupting all attempts taken by the Ministry to resolve the issues relating to children. That is the biggest barrier we have at present when addressing the issues of children”, he said.