• Moots legal provisions restricting access for such convicts to locales inhabited by children

The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) said that it intends to compile a list containing the names of offenders convicted of child sexual abuse.

The NCPA Chairperson Chanaka Udayakumara Amarasinghe explained that these convicts are most likely to repeat the offences once they are released from custody after serving their prison sentences, adding that this leaves children at risk of falling prey to molesters.

Joining a media briefing held at the Health Promotion Bureau, Amarasinghe said that the NCPA is in the process of preparing a list of convicted child molesters to make their information available to the concerned parties.

Additionally, the NCPA is discussing whether legal provisions can be introduced to either prevent or restrict ex-convicts from entering premises frequented by children, after being released from prison.

According to Amarasinghe, the country has witnessed a disturbing increase in the number of cases of child sexual abuse last year (in 2023). Last year, Sri Lanka had recorded as many as 1,639 cases of the rape of female children as opposed to the 1,618 reported in 2022. Meanwhile, incidents of sexual assaults reported in 2022 stood at 1,232, and this soared to 1,497 last year, he added.