The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) has received 7958 child complaints in the past nine months and receives between 30-60 complaints a day, said Sajeewani Abeykoon, Law Enforcement Director of the National Child Protection Authority.
She said that a concept paper has been submitted to the Ministry of Justice to establish a Child Rights Court to expedite legal action on child offenses and that criteria have been formulated in several areas for the implementation of laws regarding children.
Revealing that a cabinet paper has been submitted to bring the age limit for adoption as a child equal to the international age limit, she said that a police investigation unit would be set up in parallel with the program to establish juvenile courts.
She also said that to prevent children from becoming victims again instead of summoning them to court for questioning, it was appropriate to activate live recording programs in nine provinces using technology similar to online technology.
The Director said that amendments would be made to provide a uniform punishment system for juvenile offenders and that the focus would be on easing the punishment of children in comparison to the punishment given to adults.
She said the National Child Protection Authority alone could not investigate complaints of child abuse, adding that a number of agencies, including the IGP’s Department, the Attorney General’s Department, the Probation and Child Care Department, were working on it.
She said that out of the complaints received by the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) over the past several years, about 60,000 complaints have not been resolved so far. As at September 30 this year, the Authority has received 7958 complaints.
The last complaint received by the National Child Protection Authority was that a 10-year-old girl had been raped by her father, adding that the incident took place while her mother was cooking in the kitchen at home.
She said that between thirty and sixty such complaints are reported daily and that there are many more incidents in the society.
He said that the National Child Protection Authority had received a number of complaints last July regarding the brutal torture and murder of the housemaid of former Minister Rishad Bathiudeen.
He said that a police unit owned by the National Child Protection Authority was functioning to process such complaints but there were some delays in the implementation due to the shortage of officers.
The Director further stated that there is a general feeling among the public that the complaints made by the nationals to the Child Protection Authority are more credible as compared to the complaints received by the police stations in the island.
Mrs. Sajeewani Abeykoon, Director of Law Enforcement of the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) says that the protection of children and the prevention of child abuse cannot be done by the National Child Protection Authority alone.
She was speaking at the discussion on child abuse organized by Right to Life Human Rights Center on today (08). The discussion was moderated by journalist K. Sanjeewa.
Actress Kaushalya Fernando, Actress Nadee Kammellaweera and Media Researcher Deepanjali Abeywardena also participated in the discussion.
Nadeeka Daya Bandara