- #JustANumber concluded child protection month
The Stop Child Cruelty Trust (SCC) hosted the Grand Finale of the #JustANumber Child Protection Month on 18 November at a virtual event with live performances from the Kumaratunga Munidasa Studio of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), with participants joining the event remotely.
The winners of the national speech and art competition, which was introduced in commemoration of Children’s Day 2021 at the beginning of the month, were also awarded at the event.
The campaign’s core initiative was the national speech competition titled; “If I were the President’s Advisor, how would I address the Child Protection Crisis?” that focused on educating and empowering the youth across the country. The winners of the speech competition were Ranuja Pahalawela (Sinhala), M.T.M Armas (Tamil), Pesandi Karunaratne (English), and Deneth Samarakone (Most Popular). Thanumi De Silva received the first place in the art competition, while Sathini Weerasinghe and R. Fathima received second and third places, respectively.
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Winners of the competition with the keynote speakers[/caption]
The purpose of the initiative
Commenting on the purpose of these competitions, SCC Chairperson Dr. Tush Wickramanayaka stated that another key objective of this initiative was to get children, as young as six years and all the way up to 18 years, to share their own, unique perspective on the child protection crisis in Sri Lanka. He further told the audience that the speech and art competition received an overwhelming number of submissions from across the country and that it’s truly exciting to witness the enthusiasm and involvement of the children towards this cause. “I want to extend my congratulations to the winners and all the participants for setting a great example for the new generation of Sri Lanka,” added Dr. Wickramanayaka.
When talking about the progress of the initiative so far, he explained that within the previous fourteen months, seven children have been physically and sexually abused and murdered on our island, yet not a single person of authority has been able to protect them.
In addition to the establishment of Sri Lanka’s first Child Protection Alliance comprising twenty Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), #JustANumber Child Protection Month has focused on various aspects of child protection. SCC has also done extensive advocacy work focusing on holding the relevant authorities accountable, including an appeal to the President to ensure that the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) remains independent and free of political interference.
Dr. Wickramanayaka also added that child protection is a collective social responsibility and SCC will continue its collaborative efforts to build a self-governing ethical code of behaviour to safeguard and promote the rights of child abuse victims, while also preventing re-victimisation in the community.
Key objective
One of the key objectives of this advocacy campaign is to compel the Parliament to change the Penal Code on Cruelty to Children, especially following the Supreme Court’s recognition of corporal punishment of children by schools as unlawful and a violation of a child’s right.
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Keynote speakers in discussion during the Grand Finale of the #JustANumber Child Protection Month[/caption]
Former Sri Lankan President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, who has been a pioneer in implementing child protection legislation in Sri Lanka also addressed the event as the Chief Guest. She expressed grave concern over the misplaced notion that national security could be achieved without child protection.
In her opinion, child protection is the ultimate measurement of the level of civilisation in a society. She further added: “I applaud the efforts of Stop Child Cruelty Trust in establishing the Child Protection Alliance to find solutions to the current child protection crisis in Sri Lanka.”
When concluding the event, patron of SCC and former national cricketer Sidath Wettimuny delivered the keynote address. His enlightening thoughts reflected on the evolution of childhood between then and now.
Website: www.stopchildcruelty.com
Facebook: Stop Child Cruelty
Email: info@stopchildcruelty.com
