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No drop in child abuse despite lockdowns: NCPA

29 Jun 2021

  • Shatters myth of abuse being primarily by strangers 

By Pamodi Waravita   The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) stated that there has been no decrease in the number of child abuse cases reported islandwide during the past one and a half years of Covid-19 related travel restrictions and lockdowns, despite the assumption that children are more likely to be safer at home.  Speaking to The Morning, the NCPA’s Planning and Information Director, sociologist Shanika Malalgoda said that although it is expected that the number of reported child abuse cases would reduce when children are at home as they are thereby less likely to face incidents in the outside world, this has not been the case during the past year and a half.  “It is crucial to understand the role of the family in the protection of children. Although society believes that children are safer at home, this would not be the case if the family is not functioning as it should be. These days, especially due to economic constraints, we see the family unit falling apart which is adversely affecting children in many ways,” noted Malalgoda.  Malalgoda emphasised the importance of natural custodians in the form of family, adding that these communal bonds have weakened in recent years.  The total number of complaints reported to the NCPA from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020 was 8,165, of which 2,237 cases have been about cruelty to children.


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