• Authority receives up to 12,000 complaints annually

Around 4,000 child abuse cases remain pending before courts across Sri Lanka, according to the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA), amid concerns over delays in Police investigations, forensic examinations, and judicial proceedings involving child victims.

Speaking to The Sunday Morning, NCPA Director of Law Enforcement, Attorney-at-Law Sajeewani Abeykoon said that the authority received between 10,000 and 12,000 complaints annually, with cases involving suspected criminal offences referred to the Police for further investigation.

She explained that while action had been taken on complaints received by the authority, some remained administratively open in its database due to long-standing staff shortages and the need for continued monitoring and psychosocial support.

“It’s not that action wasn’t taken; action was taken in every single case. The only issue is that these cases hadn’t been formally closed and removed from the database due to staff shortages,” she said.

According to Abeykoon, the authority has made progress in clearing outstanding complaints, with approximately 75% of complaints received in 2025 and 50% of those received so far in 2026 having been resolved.

“We have already closed 75% of complaints received in 2025, while around 50% of complaints received in 2026 have also been closed,” she said.

She noted that complaints requiring continued psychosocial assistance or monitoring remained open, while matters involving suspected criminal offences were referred to the relevant law enforcement authorities.