Amidst a recent landmark push to combat all forms of violence against children in Sri Lanka, stakeholders are calling for greater efforts to address longstanding challenges and protect the country’s children. 

Last month’s ‘International Conference on Child Protection 2025’ (ICCP’25), hosted by the Centre for Gender Studies at the University of Kelaniya in collaboration with the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) and supported by the European Union (EU) through UNICEF Sri Lanka, aimed to drive policy, academic, and institutional action on some of the country’s most pressing issues related to children.

The conference represented a milestone in implementing the international pledges made at the 2024 ‘Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children,’ where Sri Lanka pledged to ban corporal punishment, strengthen social services response, establish child-sensitive services for survivors, and create safer schools. 

According to the NCPA, over 10,000 child abuse and related complaints were reported in 2024, with over 8% involving some form of sexual abuse. From January to May this year, a total of 3,438 complaints were reported, including 216 cases of sexual harassment, 85 cases of grave sexual abuse, and 20 cases of rape. 

A complex situation 

NCPA Director General Anoma Siriwardena told The Sunday Morning that while the authority was yet to plan any follow-up work based on the conference, it would first undertake a review of the feedback gathered at the conference before enacting an action plan. 

Sri Lankan children are vulnerable on many fronts, and technological advancements add another aspect to this. Siriwardena noted that the NCPA had identified an increase in cyber-related incidents affecting children, adding that the authority had initiated discussions with cyber security specialists on educating adults and holding awareness sessions, followed by a Training of Trainers programme designed to educate the public on measures to protect children in the digital environment.  

Meanwhile, University of Kelaniya Faculty of Medicine Cadre Chair and Centre for Gender Studies Director Senior Professor Anuruddhi Edirisinghe emphasised the need for inter-ministerial coordination in fulfilling the pledges on child protection. 

She shared that throughout her 25-year career in the field, action had mostly been undertaken in siloes, with no connectivity or coordination between relevant institutions. Accordingly, the conference had attempted to bring all key stakeholders together and put before them an academic discussion on what needed to be done. 

Prof. Edirisinghe stated that the final report on the conference would be shared with all participants and officially sent to ministries. “It is the responsibility of ministries to act on these recommendations,” she noted, stating that academia remained prepared to lend support through advice. 

“In the meantime, the university has initiated a dialogue about child protection with professionals in the field. We will continue our awareness campaign since continuous awareness at the public level is essential,” she said. 

According to Siriwardena, the NCPA has launched an initiative for officials – such as divisional and district child protection officers and psychosocial officers in each district – to identify and resolve localised issues specific to each area. 

“Since the nature of these issues vary regionally, local officers are better placed to identify and respond to them. These officers will collaborate with community volunteer leaders and relevant Government officers to identify root causes and undertake relevant interventions,” she said.  

Signs of progress 

Despite existing issues, Prof. Edirisinghe noted that there had been significant improvement in child protection mechanisms over the years, especially in the health sector, with the internalisation of established guidelines. 

The development of two key guidelines by the Ministry of Health, through the College of Forensic Pathologists of Sri Lanka as well as the Sri Lanka College of Paediatricians, has played a pivotal role. 

The National Guideline for the Management of Child Abuse and Neglect, issued via a ministry circular in 2023, has become a standard protocol. However, training efforts have begun only recently. “We commenced training in the Southern Province two months ago,” Prof. Edirisinghe noted. 

There is also the Ragama Lama Piyasa, a safe home that initiates psychosocial management and offers long-term care centring the child – a first-of-its-kind facility launched in 2015. A second hospital-based safe home is being established at the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital, with operations expected to commence in about a month or two. 

However, Prof. Edirisinghe pointed out that psychosocial management of abused children was not at optimal conditions nationwide, with a shortage of specialists with the required expertise. 

Nevertheless, strides have been made in forensic evidence collection, injury examination reporting, and Police procedures, such as child-friendly women and children’s desks, trained female officers, and efforts to avoid retraumatisation.  

She also outlined ongoing projects, noting that one project was underway where the University of Kelaniya, with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), was working with the National Police Academy to develop a curriculum for the training of all Police officers assigned to women and children’s desks. A one-week training programme is already underway, while a three-week programme and an eventual diploma-level programme has been planned. 

Notably, Prof. Edirisinghe pointed out that undertaking the training through the National Police Academy was intended to ensure continuity, since the curriculum could be used by the academy to continue the training beyond the project’s funding period. 

Another ongoing initiative, in partnership with UNICEF and the Department of Probation and Childcare Services, is working on the curriculum and on improving the service quality of probation officers. 

“Things are moving towards betterment, but people have to do the work,” she said. 

Persisting challenges

According to Prof. Edirisinghe, while the National Guidelines on Examination, Reporting, and Management of Sexually Abused Survivors for Medico-Legal Purposes and the National Guideline for the Management of Child Abuse and Neglect exist and training has been provided on these, they have no legal binding, so their practice varies based on individual attitudes, leading to unequal services throughout the country. 

Both experts also identified attitudinal barriers as a primary obstacle. Siriwardena attributed parental negligence as a primary cause for child protection issues, noting that the adults bore a fundamental responsibility to protect children. 

Prof. Edirisinghe noted that psychosocial management of children and social care was lagging behind, with social care services including probation officers falling short of expected standards. She observed that the quality of service of child abuse management was based on the enthusiasm of the management team.  

She therefore noted that effective child protection required coordination between multiple professionals – akin to a relay – involving the Police, judicial medical officers, healthcare providers, and psychosocial professionals.   

However, these services remain fragmented. “The attitude of professionals is role-centred rather than child-centred. Therefore, the child has to go to each person instead of the professionals coming together and providing the service to the child. This attitude has to change. It’s not that we lack knowledge, but there is no interconnectivity.”

She also expressed concerns about the justice system, noting that the failure of justice was a prevalent concern when it came to child victims of abuse. Given the delays in the judicial system, where cases drag on for years, the children involved will see the cases continue even into adulthood. This is also compounded by staffing shortages in the Justice Ministry. 

Prof. Edirisinghe therefore stressed the need for a specialised unit within the Sri Lanka Police to address cases of violence against children and women, in order to ensure that trained personnel were retained without being transferred, a practice that undermined the continuity of efforts at child protection.