NCPA's prime task :

Protecting underaged children from abuse

By Ananda KANNANGARA

Anoma Dissanayaka

Parents should focus more attention on their underage children when keeping them home alone or when sending them to schools in private vehicles without the care of responsible elders, National Child Protection Authority (NCPA), Chairperson Anoma Dissanayake said in an interview with the Sunday Observer.

She said the NCPA receives about 20 child abuse cases from many parts of the country everyday and majority child abuse takes place due to the negligence of parents.

Therefore it is the responsibility of parents to look after their children, especially underage children in a more careful manner.

The children should not be isolated even for a few minutes as there are possibilities by unscrupulous persons to destroy their tender lives at any time.

She also said that elders must always be with underage children when going to schools in school buses, vans or trishaws.

According to several on-the-spot investigations, many small schoolchildren have been seen travelling in vans and trishaws without the company of elderly persons.

A child domestic

Two boys labouring in a garbage dump Pix: Vipula Amarasinghe

Following are the excerpts of the interview:

Q: How many children's homes are in the country?

A: There are many children's homes in the country and all of them are coming under the purview of the Probation and Child Care Bureau.

Q: What is the role played by your Authority?

A: We have to investigate all matters that are related to child abuse cases in the country.

Q: When Child abuse cases are reported what action is taken by the NCPA?

A: We visit the places concerned and conduct investigations. We also take prompt action to crack down on the persons responsible for such child abuse cases.

Q: Could anybody or a group of persons maintain a children's home?

A: If anybody wants to operate a children's home, then he should first get the approval from the relevant authorities, unless no children's homes could be operated.

Q: How many child abuse cases are reported to the NCPA a month?

A: We receive at least 20 child abuse cases a day. Among them are those abused sexually.

Q: Is it true female domestic workers are the most vulnerable persons?

A: Not only female domestic workers, but also underage male domestic workers face untold hardships.

Q: What do you think of mothers who seek foreign employment after leaving their underage children, especially girls?

A domestic carrying a heavy bag

A: Although there are financial problems in families, my view is mothers who have underage children should not leave their children alone and go for overseas jobs. On the one hand, children in such families stop their education and get involved in unlawful activities. Such children also face numerous forms of sexual and physical abuse.

Q: Have you taken any step to stop such mothers leaving the country for foreign jobs?

A: We have already informed the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) to stop sending such females for foreign jobs. I think there is a good response from the SLBFE.

Q: Do you think only parents are responsible to look after their children and save them from unscrupulous elements.

A: Even school principals, teachers and elders in society could play a vital role in eliminating child abuse, since there were many instances that schoolchildren, especially underage girls had become victims and ultimately lost their lives at a very tender age.

Q: How do you educate ordinary public on the importance of safeguarding young children from unwanted persons?

A: We conduct seminars very often not only to educate ordinary persons on this matter, but also law enforcement officers on how to deal with child abuse. We are also happy to say that our law enforcement officers carry out their duties without considering anybody's social status.

Q: If anybody wants to make a complaint to the NCPA regarding a child abuse case, what is the procedure?

A: We have a 24 -hour hotline service, "The Child Line - No. 1929). Anybody could complain through this line and we will take prompt action to help victimised persons and also to crack down offenders involved in such cases. The objective of introducing this hotline is also to eradicate various forms of harassments made on schoolchildren by school authorities as well as domestic servants by employers.

Q: What are your advice to parents and elders on child abuse matters?

A: Child abuse could be completely eliminated if elders, especially parents and teachers are vigilant on their children's day to day social activities. Children should not be isolated. Always young children must be accompanied by elders. Underage children should not be deployed on domestic work or to be employed at unknown places.

A senior student of a research team on `Child Abuses' from the Colombo University said child abuse cases are mainly reported from the estate sector, where labourers keep their children in houses in Colombo as domestic servants with the objective of earning a good monthly salary.

But, ultimately many of these domestic servants face untold sexual harassments. Due to the poverty they do not reveal such matters even to their relatives and keep them secret.

If any parent makes complaint against such affluent people they take legal action and ultimately the victims are suffering.

At Mahabellana, Panadura, a mother who is employed in a garment factory was in the habit of keeping her seven -year old daughter with a 20 -year old male domestic servant during the day.

When questioned the research team was informed that the father of the child had been missing from home due to a family dispute.

Although the residents had repeatedly requested the mother not to keep her daughter with that young domestic servant she had not suspected that man.

But later it was reported that the small girl was sexually abused by that man on several occasions.

"This is a good lesson for parents who leave their young children alone with male domestic servants or even with any other male person,".

Therefore, he requested parents to send their children to schools without allowing them to work as domestics.

Parents must know that we have social service organisations to keep children free of charge, free educational institutions including Government schools to admit children and also pirivenas to admit children free of charge.