One of Sri Lanka’s long-acknowledged and least acted on crises is the violence against women and children, which has been widespread in Sri Lanka. In 2023, there were over 5000 cases relating to child abuse pending in the Magistrate’s Courts. It is reported that approximately one third of cases of sexual offences in the High Courts are related to children. Also in 2023, over 25,000 cases of domestic violence were reported. According to the women’s wellness census of 2019, 2 in every 5 women in Sri Lanka experience some form of violence by their partners and over one third of female deaths are due to intimate partner violence.
Our justice system is well-known for its slow progress, with many courts seeing massive caseloads that have resulted in some cases, particularly linked to women, children and involving gender-based violence, being delayed for years. While some respite has been seen in the last few years, many critics maintain that the prolonged nature of prosecuting cases through the Sri Lankan court system has negative impacts on women and children who seek justice and are often victims of grave crimes. Our judicial system and structures, rooted in colonial legal backgrounds, are also not well-equipped or modernised enough to help deliver justice to child victims of crimes. On the law enforcement side, the shortcomings are many. Firstly, the Sri Lanka Police Bureau for the Investigation of Abuse of Children and Women has stated that the Attorney General (AG) filed cases in relation to instances of child abuse and grave abuse against women. The Police file cases in relation to minor offences against women in the Magistrate’s Courts, while civil cases are filed by people in the District Courts. Earlier this year it was learnt that the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs have no centralised data of pending cases; instead, it only has the data provided by the Police. The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) and the Legal Aid Commission also file cases relating to the subject. It has been observed that a lack of resources and poor inter-institutional coordination contribute to the problem. The Police Bureau for the Investigation of Abuse of Children and Women acknowledged delays and the lack of resources. There is also a serious problem with how child victims are portrayed in mass media reporting and of reporting in the digital domain. Much needs to be done to affect a more robust – ethical approach to reporting on child victims.
June 2025, a group of Sri Lankan lawyers, legal experts and members of civil society submitted a set of recommendations to the Minister of Justice of Sri Lanka, Harshana Nanayakkara identifying specific measures to expedite justice for Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and child abuse cases in Sri Lanka. Multiple reports by UN agencies like UNICEF Sri Lanka, have over the years flagged the serious gaps in the justice mechanism, policies and approach to dealing with child victims.
As such, the present Government and those before must be commended for working towards the improvement of how we deliver justice to child victims and women. Yesterday (17), the Ministry of Justice and National Integration and the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs, with support from the European Union through UNICEF, launched a groundbreaking initiative to support children who have experienced violence. “The new model service will ensure fast, child-sensitive support to child victims of violence; from the point when the case is reported to Police, helplines or others, until the child is linked with sustained care and protection mechanisms. The model service, launched in Kandy, includes six flagship initiatives of local and national scale to introduce transformative changes in the child protection and justice system. These improvements include enhancing the 1929 Helpline, introducing integrated case-management, enhancing support services for children, improving efficiency of justice processes, enhancing practices for taking evidence from children, and introducing child-friendly courts with child witness rooms. The operationalisation of the model service for child victims of violence is supported by the European Union under the Support to Justice Sector Project (JURE),” the UNICEF said. The new initiative brings new tools, procedures and guidelines which will help justice stakeholders to protect children’s rights, dignity and wellbeing and to ensure speedy and quality support in delivering justice.
A nation which looks after its children and women with respect, dignity, inclusivity and justice will be a strong, humane, resilient and efficient one. Let us hope that such initiatives by UNICEF and the State grow and are implemented throughout Sri Lanka.