• An analysis of media-reported child abuse incidents within the year

As work with regard to ending child abuse is directly impacted by the incidence of child abuse, it is important to closely monitor trusted and reliable media reports on the incidence of child abuse. The intention is to monitor, document information, and research the incidence of child abuse and sexual exploitation, i.e. the nature of the abuse and the geographical locations of the highest rates of incidence, and to thereafter, analyse different trends. This process is so that programmes could be strategised towards this end and also to provide stakeholders and child rights activists with credible information and insight into child abuse in Sri Lanka, and to in turn use the same to prevent child sexual abuse.

The World Health Organisation defines child abuse and maltreatment as “all forms of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment ,or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the child's health, survival, development, or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust, or power”. The four main types of child abuse are physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse. Child sexual abuse does not relate only to incidents of abuse of penal penetration as it also entails incidents of touching, non-penetrative acts such as kissing, rubbing and touching outside clothing, and non-contact activities such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, sexual images, watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child in preparation for abuse including via the internet.

Last year (2022), in Sri Lanka, in terms of incidents concerning children and the incidence of grave child abuse, there were cases of abuse (79); deaths (28); negligence (27); physical abuse (25); drug abuse (nine); abduction (seven); disappearance (four); three cases each of attempted murder, and being sold and trafficked; emotional abuse and trauma (two); one case each of an early marriage or forced marriage, and cyber bullying; and five cases of an unknown nature. 

With regard to gender, 89 incidents concerned females, 41 concerned males while in 24 cases, the gender was not reported. District-wise, incidents took place in Colombo (26); Jaffna (22); Gampaha (18); Anuradhapura (15); Galle (14); Kalutara (10); Kandy (nine); eight cases each in Badulla, Monaragala, Ratnapura and Puttalam; seven cases each in Matara, Hambantota and Kurunegala; four cases each in Ampara, Matale and Nuwara Eliya; three cases each in Kegalle, Vavuniya, Batticaloa, and Trincomalee; Mullaitivu (two); and Polonnaruwa (one). Month-wise, incidents took place in October (40); December (38); August (24); November (20); September (18); March (11); June (10); seven cases each in January, February, May and July; and April (five). 

From all reported incidences of child abuse cases, sexual abuse at 41% is the highest occurring crime against children in 2022. Other child abuse incidents that are high include child deaths at 14% (28 incidents). Of the 28 incidents of child deaths, 75% (21 incidents) were homicide and 14% (four incidents) were suicide. One child died due to medical negligence on the part of the State medical services, while 7% (two children) were sexually abused and murdered. The other abuses were negligence at 14% and physical abuse at 13%.

According to the Police Department, 1,500 rape cases including statutory rapes were reported in the first nine months of 2022, a significant increase from the first nine months of the previous year (2021). Of the 1,500 reported, over 13% of the rapes were perpetrated on adult females whereas 86.6% were cases of statutory rapes.

The months of October and December saw an unusual increase in the incidence of child abuse with 40 incidents in October and 38 incidents in December. The months preceding October, namely, August and September, saw a spike with 21 and 18 media-reported incidents, respectively. One possible reason for this sudden increase in incidents may have been the media’s preoccupation with the coverage of the country's economic crisis and the national protests against the Government in the earlier part of the year, specifically between April and July.  As a result, only partial coverage of child abuse incidents may have been reported during those challenging months. 

Another possibility for the sudden increase is a possible correlation between the escalating cases of child abuse and the worsening severity of the country’s economic crisis. One manifestation of this correlation is that due to most families being unable to afford basic, nutritious, and high quality food items, parents were heavily preoccupied with sourcing the same, and therefore, were distracted and even disengaged from child rearing, thus neglecting to sustain watchful and protective scrutiny over their children, in turn resulting in a higher average of the incidence of child abuse for the above months. No specific causes may be definitively identified at this time for the significant increases in the incidence of child abuse for October and December. 

The Districts of Colombo, Galle, Gampaha, Jaffna, and Anuradhapura are the highest for the reported incidents of child abuse. Although there was news of child abuse incidents in the Kilinochchi and Mannar Districts, there was no coverage of those incidents in mainstream news media outlets. Nearly 28% of the incidents were reported from the three Districts of the Western Province with Colombo topping at 13.4%. Among the Districts, Jaffna stands second at 11.34% for the incidence of child abuse. While there is no direct correlation between cites with a high population density (according to the American think tank, the Brookings Institution, the Colombo Metropolitan area has a population of 5.6 million with 752,993 in the City of Colombo) and child abuse, the elements of violence exist in more populous cities and areas. It should be noted however that while Jaffna’s population was just over 629,000 in mid-2022, it became a hub for drug abuse and crimes against children and females in the recent past. 

The abuse of girl children remains the highest incidence of child abuse at 110, or almost 57% of the total number of incidents reported. The incidence of abuse against boys is at 27% (41 incidents). For 24 incidents, the media had not specified a gender as the use of the general term “child” makes it difficult to specify as to whether it is a female or male child. According to research on the “Sexual Exploitation of Boys in Sri Lanka” conducted together with ECPAT International in November 2021, and based on field experience, it is a known fact that the media and law enforcement agencies are reluctant to recognise that boys too are abused sexually. As a result, a great number of incidents of sexual abuse and the exploitation of boy children are not reported and/or are ignored.  

With regard to the perpetrator, 57 were known to the child, 21 were strangers, and in 22 cases, the nature of the perpetrator was not reported. According to research, 95% of perpetrators who engaged in the sexual abuse of children were known to the victim and were usually a part of the child’s close or extended family. According to media reports, 57% of the offenders are either family members or closely associated with the family. Only 21% were strangers while the nature of the relationship in 22% remained unknown.

Between October and December 2022, a high number of child abuse occurrences at the hands of educators have been reported by the media where school principals and teachers of both the sexes have been remanded following brutal corporal punishments meted out to students. Educational institutes and teachers fail to comprehend that school children are rights-holders and as a result are found to be non-compliant with the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child.

There was only one media report about cyber bullying. This of course does not mean that online child sexual exploitation and abuse is non-existent. In fact, between 2021-2022, there were two heavily publicised cases, where the victims, both 15-year old female children, were trafficked online and prostituted. Child sexual abuse related materials uploaded to the internet from internet protocol addresses include child pornographic videos and images of Sri Lankan children and children from abroad. The noticeable lack of media reporting on what is actually a prevalent issue, points to unfamiliarity on the part of media sources, and the law enforcement, in having accurate knowledge and reporting online child sexual exploitation and abuse related practices as well as its manifestations online for children, adolescents and teens. 

The same could be stated for the legal system. For example, with regard to such cases, to date, no actions have been taken by the Attorney General's Department in prosecuting those arrested and those who have since been granted bail. It has been widely speculated that the reason for this lack of action may be due to heavy political influence as a former Maldivian Minister, professionals, and a well known Buddhist monk are allegedly implicated. In 2019, PEaCE / ECPAT Sri Lanka commissioned a local think tank to conduct a Legal Gap Analysis on Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Sri Lanka which found that “currently, a lack of knowledge on what constitutes online child sexual exploitation and abuse exists,” and hence recommended training for the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA), the Criminal Investigations Department, prosecutors and judges, and in fact for all law enforcement on recognising and identifying what constitutes online child sexual exploitation and abuse. 

In a recent press release titled Child Welfare and Child Justice in Sri Lanka – No time like the present, the UN International Children's Emergency Fund stated that while competent authorities exist for child protection in Sri Lanka, nevertheless, a key issue is the lack of coordination between the protection agencies. Specifically, the NCPA, the Department of Probation and Child Care Services, the National Secretariat for Early Childhood Development, and the Bureau for the Prevention of the Abuse of Children and Women which is under the Police do not have a mechanism to come together to discuss child protection related priorities.

It is therefore hoped that the sharing of information on child abuse will provide stakeholders in child protection, the scope for acting in conjunction for the prevention of child abuse.

(PEaCE / ECPAT Sri Lanka is a non-Governmental organisation focused on child protection by way of ending the sexual abuse and exploitation of children)