Thursday, 2 October 2014 00:00
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The month started with World Children’s Day. Given the spine-chillingly high abuse rates in Sri Lanka, this day deserves more attention than most and a genuine dedication to resolving this terrible scourge blighting the next generation.
According to Child Development and Women’s Affairs Minister Tissa Karaliyadda, 7,418 children were victimised by various types of abuse in 2012. This makes for a staggering 20 children abused each day. Of those incidents, the highest number – 1,174 – had been reported from the Colombo District.
Police statistics show the total number of child rapes in 2011 as 1,463; the figure jumped to 1,759 cases in 2012, according to a Parliamentary report. Police records also give a total of just over 2,000 sexual offenses against children, besides rape, in 2011; child molestation cases in 2012 soared to over 5,000, according to Parliamentary figures. The total number of all crimes against children — which besides sex crimes include crimes of violence, abduction, trafficking and other offenses — increased by a dramatic 64% between 2011 and 2012. Activists have warned the real number may be much higher.
Whatever the real numbers may be, there can be no question that even one is one too many. Even once the offence is discovered and the responsible parties arrested, children often have no one to take care of them and are shuttled to State or non-State run juvenile centres. They then have to undergo more heartbreak and fear as a sluggish legal system mires them in years of litigation – sometimes for as long as a decade. Often, during this time, the perpetrators roam free.
In its shambling way, the Government is responding to the crisis by attempting to reduce the number of mothers seeking employment overseas. Even though a popular belief is that migrant workers create social problems, when comparing Sri Lankan child abuse with statistics from other migrant-oriented countries such as the Philippines, Sri Lanka’s abuse is an anomaly. It points to deeper issues triggering the devastatingly high numbers here. Moreover, there was no mention by the Minister about steps being taken to fast-track rehabilitation and empower the justice system to aid victims.
Rampant abuse is completely swept into the shadows and while the Government has taken some steps such as establishing two courts only for child abuse cases, estimates indicate around 10,000 cases are pending at all courts around the island.
The Government’s response has been to propose the death penalty as a form of deterrent. Yet, it will not reduce the snarled judicial process in Sri Lanka, make the Police more competent or change social causes of abuse. Moreover, studies have shown the death penalty does not reduce crimes rates in countries or states where it is practiced. Given Sri Lanka’s complicated and inept judicial system chances for error are also high. A much more effective method would be streamlining the justice system, de-politicising the Police, and providing rehabilitation to abused children. In the long run changing social attitudes will be the biggest challenge.
Caught in a vicious cycle of injustice, ever-growing impunity, stigma and judicial inefficiency, thousands of children are part of a tragic lost generation in Sri Lanka. Month after month goes by with nothing done and one is forced to ask the question, does anyone care?
