Child protection

Monday, 19 December 2016 08:49 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Child protection is expected to get a much needed kick-start in 2017 with a slew of new legislation to be approved by Cabinet and passed into law by Parliament. However, there is still a massive need for fast-tracking of cases into courts where justice can be dispensed speedily, victims protected and children provide psycho-social care.

The Justice Ministry is to introduce several new Bills in the New Year to safeguard the rights of children, as well as to combat the growing number of cyber-crimes committed by the improper use of the internet and mobile devices, to harass and bully children, both sexually and otherwise.

The laws against cybercrime will be enacted by way of a new Obscene Publications Bill which will replace the present Obscene Publications Ordinance enacted in 1993.

A taskforce was appointed by the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) earlier this year to combat the growing threat posed to children and young persons by bullying and sexual harassment via social media such as Facebook and Instagram, and messaging and other mobile and web-based applications like Snap-Chat and WhatsApp. It also launched a 24-hour confidential telephone link for children and young persons who are being bullied, harassed or intimidated online or via a mobile device.

The new law is intended to give more teeth to law enforcement authorities to deal with perpetrators of such crimes against children.

Meanwhile, the other laws that will be introduced include an amendment to the Penal Code to increase the minimum age limit for Criminal Responsibility, which will specify that nothing is an offence committed by a child under 12 years of age. The amendment is now before Cabinet.

An amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure will also be introduced alongside to provide for the magistrate to refer the child to a Government Medical Officer to examine and submit a report to the police, indicating the medical officer’s opinion whether the child has attained sufficient maturity of understanding to judge the nature and consequence of his conduct, on the occasion of his committing an alleged offence, and whether, the child is in need of any therapeutic intervention.

A new Children (Judicial Protection) Bill too has been drafted to fulfill Sri Lanka’s obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which requires the formulation of immediate and long-term responses to overcome barriers impeding child care and the protection of the juvenile justice system.

While statutory protection can be bolstered this way, procedures for investigation and prosecution of child abuse, witness protection and support for the victim are all deficient, according to UNICEF. Tellingly, a third of cases pending in Sri Lanka’s high courts are those involving children, who wait a harrowing five to eight years to get justice, if at all. As court dates are awaited on, the perpetrators often roam free while their victims must live in foster homes or shelters.

Authorities should be applauded for showing greater willingness to face up to the problem. However, the dimensions of the crisis remain enormous: over 10,000 child abuse cases are currently pending across all courts, according to some estimates and more are being added all the time. The bigger challenge will be to ensure the law is properly implemented.