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Getting serious about the child abuse pandemic

01 Aug 2021

The recent revelations of child rape, murder, and slavery in the household of a former Cabinet Minister made the headlines. But these stirrings of our Nation’s conscience are all too brief. Sri Lankans need a good kick up their posteriors to take action and get it into their heads that these heinous behaviours need to be brought to a full stop, forever.
  • There have only been reports of 5,891 incidents of child abuse in the country between 2012 and 2020 
  • The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) was established in 1988, but has failed to eradicate the many forms of child abuse 
  • It took 20 years before the National Child Protection Policy was adopted in 2009, but enforcement has been pitiful
  • The number of women and children, especially girls, facing abuse, has substantially grown in practically every country due to a combination of economic and social stressors brought about by the epidemic and limitation of travel
Sweeping it under the carpet There’s something drastically wrong with Sri Lankans. Minors are sent away from their homes by parents wanting money. 15-year-olds are sold into online child porn rings by their mothers. A cardiologist and a Navy officer patronised such a ring and raped a 15-year-old. Where is the NCPA? Where is the Department of Social Services? Where are the Police? Where are the Grama Niladhari? Where, oh where, are the neighbours, who surely knew that something was wrong? A culture of child labour Up to the 1980s, it was common for affluent and even middle class households to use child labour quite blatantly in the form of kollas or servant boys, whose ages started as young as seven or eight years. Girls were usually hired at a slightly higher age, perhaps 12-16. This practice only eased up due to financial constraints and the size of Sri Lankan households reducing over the last four decades. Law enforcement had little to do with it. But in the most affluent households, this practice often continues. A culture of child sexual abuse Sri Lankans, since the 1960s, have been famous among pedophiles for child sexual exploitation and child pornography. From Hikkaduwa to Ampara, Sri Lankan parents willingly sold their boys and girls into sexual slavery for a few thousand rupees. However, international crackdowns on global pedophile and porn rings has resulted in this trade becoming less apparent, but going deeper underground into the vast spaces of cybercrime known as the “Dark Web”. Child abuse Child abuse is not merely a child's physical mistreatment. It is abuse by an adult that threatens the youngster or is aggressive. For example, when child abuse happens at home and the abuser is the parent or caregiver of the child, this is a form of domestic violence. However, sometimes minors are harmed by other adult people they depend on, such as nursing staff, teachers, and sports coaches. If parents and caregivers can no longer cope with childcare, dysfunctional behaviour and abuse can occur. Child physical abuse “To slap, to beat, to throw, to kill or harm, to burn or scald, to drown, suffocate, or otherwise to damage the child is to define physical abuse.” A child is physically abused when someone deliberately injures or impedes a child. It also may include improper discipline for their age or condition a child to physical punishment. Physical abuse may also be regarded as deadly force or control. Even if the caregiver does not intend to damage the child but gets wounded, it is a matter of abuse. Mental and psychological harm, lifetime injury, and death can result in blisters, bruises, cuts, internal injuries, damage to the brain, and fractured bones. In addition, anger against parents or other adults, dread of parents or adults, despair and stress, nightmares, suicidal feelings, or damage to oneself or others, may lead to diverse behavioral problems. Physical abuse can put children in danger of poor learning or a long-term medical condition and require particular care and assistance. Sexual abuse Forcing or encouraging a child or teenager not necessarily to engage in excessive levels of violence, regardless whether a youngster is conscious or not of what is going on. Physical contact may include assault through penetration (e.g. rape or oral sex) or non-penetration, such as masturbating, kissing, rubbing, and touching outside clothes. They may also include acts without contact, including involving children in seeing or producing sexual pictures, witnessing sexual activity, pushing children to misbehave, or grooming a child for abuse (including via the internet). Child abandonment Generally speaking, when a child’s identity remains unknown or information on the parent remains unknown, the child has been left untouched without provisions for physical health and safety or welfare, and not provided necessary care for the child living under the same roof, it’s considered child abandonment. Child dropout words include leaving children with another person for three months without meaningful contact with their babies, abandoning a child at the door, in trash cans and dumpsters, and on the side of the road, and not being willing to care for, support, or supervise their children. Child labour Employment of youngsters and minors by increasing the minimum working age from 12 to 14 years, and prohibiting childran under 14, while increasing the penalties of breach of this provision, the ordinance enhances the child labor law. Domestic violence prevention provides for protection orders to shield victims and victims of domestic violence who are susceptible. Toxic Sri Lankan culture Any worldwide approach to child abuse should consider differences in parenting practices and expectations across cultures around the world. Culture, including its ideas about how people should behave, is the common fund of beliefs and behaviour. Ideas on what omission or commission actions could constitute abuse and neglect were included in these concepts. In other words, culture contributes to the definition of universally recognised children’s education and care ideas. We understand that children abused and neglected, without intervention, are more likely to develop mental health problems and become abusive themselves. Money alone cannot protect children against these results. Fig 1. Consequences of child abuse Neglect of child abuse Many studies have investigated the causes of child abuse and neglect in poor environments. Logically, a predisposed parent can fight even more under the strain of income uncertainty and the lack of childcare, adequate shelter, and food. Although poverty-oriented suffering is genuine and seriously problematic, children’s welfare systems in affluent places were condemned for ignoring abuse while showing over-intervention and preference towards impoverished parents. Abuse and neglect occur in families with adequate food, comfortable housing, and many economic resources, but community members, compulsory reporters, police officers, and courts often approach it differently. Child welfare Each child is entitled to a good and secure childhood. Child welfare means the support of municipal social workers in instances of a problem for children and families. Before they get too big, we try to fix problems. The welfare of children is always a final destination. This means that the kid and the family are helped in schools or maternity or child health clinics, for example, before child welfare is contacted. Child welfare contact begins with a report on child welfare. Families can request assistance from child welfare authorities. Anyone interested in the well-being of a family may also submit child welfare reports. The child welfare authorities may, for example, be contacted by a teacher. Parents can sometimes not guarantee the well-being of the child. The best thing in child welfare is the best interest of the child. For example, if parents are exhausted, or a challenging shift in the family life takes place, you can ask for aid from child welfare.  Child welfare assists families when, for instance, a kid or adolescent is using or committing offenses pertaining to alcohol or drugs. There are numerous techniques to support families with child welfare. The main goal, if the child lives with its family, is non-institutional care. A social worker can provide home support or a family support person. Poverty can be unfairly neglected. Poverty like inadequate housing and food insecurity often appears to be neglect, resulting in increased reporting and support for low-income families. Poverty can lead, in turn, to increased monitoring and surveillance of low-income families (who may receive various social services or reside in over-community neighbourhoods and locations). Child protection in Finland In Finland, the parents are always primarily responsible for the well-being of a child. The Child Welfare Act in Finland says that if problems emerge with the family, the local child welfare authorities must assist the parents. In Finland, child welfare is promoted under this Child Welfare Act. Medical care offers child welfare specialist support and, where required, provides child healthcare and mental services. The services of child protection do not interfere with this basic social system unless the child has been at risk for his or her health or development. Child protection services are typically linked to the concern that parents may take the child away. The child welfare departments always strive to support the child so that if things at home change for the better, they can continue to live at home or return home to the family. Mental health problems of the parents or the child, drug addiction, or violence are often encountered by child protection services. In Finland, it is banned by law to correct youngsters. If situations in your home represent a health or development concern, the child can urgently be placed in custody. The 5 Ps: Prevention, Paramountcy, Partnership, Protection, and Parental responsibility, are the fundamental elements of the children's order 1995. All are very self-explaining: “paramountcy” means the child's needs to always be the first one. Solutions
  • Officials who are supposed to enforce child-related laws should be held accountable, including Social Services, NCPA, Police, and Grama Niladhari
  • Relatives and neighbours who may have any knowledge of crimes against children, from the perpetrators’ side or the parents’ side, should be arrested and jailed
  • Informational campaigns should be regularly carried out in communities and should be included in school curricula
  • A national database of convicted child abusers should be compiled and made freely available, to ensure that such persons find it difficult to function in society and to obtain employment
  If you feel that you or someone you know may be dealing with child abuse, the following institutions would assist you. National Child Protection Authority: 1929 LEADS Sri Lanka: 011 495 4111, 075 712 1212 Women In Need: 077 567 65 55 © Niresh Eliatamby and Nicholas Ruwan Dias  (The writers are Managing Partners of the Cogitaro Group, a diversified group of companies that includes businesses in several fields, a professional consultancy firm, and activism in the areas of gender equality, environment and differently abled rights. Dr. Dias is a digital architect, entrepreneur and educationist based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He is Head of Solution Delivery for a global insurance giant. ruwan@cogitaro.com. Eliatamby is an entrepreneur, author and lecturer in Law and Marketing based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He was previously Associate Editor of a national newspaper. niresh@cogitaro.com)  


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