The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) has taken steps to introduce a national code of guidelines to ensure child protection in Sri Lanka. 

The initiative aims to minimise various forms of abuse against children.

A media briefing to raise awareness about the guidelines was held on Monday (9). Speaking at the event, NCPA Director Shanika Malalgoda stated that the Authority receives nearly 10,000 complaints relating to child abuse annually. The need for such guidelines had arisen due to the increasing number of challenges affecting children's safety, including sexual abuse, cruelty, online cyberspace threats, teenage pregnancies and drug use. 

"In some instances, individuals also make mistakes due to a lack of awareness. However, these actions ultimately affect children's safety. Therefore, ensuring the responsibility of every citizen is essential, and this is one of the key objectives of these guidelines." 

Meanwhile, the Senior Information Security Engineer at the Computer Emergency Readiness Team, Charuka Damunupola said that there had been a significant increase in complaints concerning online abuse involving children. He revealed that 53 highly sensitive incidents involving children in the online and digital media space were reported last year (in 2025), while the figure had risen to 180 by this month (November). He noted that social media exposure and the use of children's content to generate income through monetisation features had contributed to the growing risks, with some parents also sharing such content without being fully aware of the potential consequences. 

"These are extremely serious incidents involving children in the online and digital media environment. We see a direct link between social media exposure and children becoming victims of such crimes. We have also observed a recent increase in these incidents alongside the introduction and expansion of monetisation features on social media platforms. As a result, children's content is increasingly being used to generate income, sometimes even by their own parents. This can have a significant impact on children, often without their parents realising the potential harm," he said.