As it has been extensively reported by the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) and many other sources, child abuse in Sri Lanka is quite widespread. While in recent years the making of complaints on child abuse has increased, the actual way of getting an effective remedy for these complaints with the view to helping the victims on the one hand and also to create deterrence against this obnoxious practice has not been adequately achieved. Much of the criticism of the parents as well as the authorities themselves is on the area of the non-implementation of the legislative provisions which are already there. Besides this, there are also problems relating to delinquent children and other children who for one reason or another are brought before courts and who do not get a proper service in terms of the international norms and standards which have now been developed over such matters.
One of the major reasons for this lack of practical achievement in the area of the protection of the rights of the children is the problems which exist particularly within the framework of Magistrate’s Courts in Sri Lanka. It is because most of the matters relating to sexual abuse or other forms of problems relating to children’s protection come mostly before the Magistrate’s Courts. The observations we have made are that the existing practices around the Magistrate’s Courts in dealing with these children are so discouraging to the parents and to the children themselves and that this in turn acts as a factor that demoralises and discourages them from seeking legal protection relating to their problems.
If any effective protection is to be provided for children on the matters mentioned above, it is that the problems associated with the Magistrate’s Courts concerning children's rights need to be understood and addressed effectively.
To our knowledge, there has not been any serious study on the Magistrate’s Courts’ practices relating to the protection of children in Sri Lanka. Such a research would provide for a better understanding of the problem which in turn could help in the development of policies and also the adoption of practical methodologies to address these problems.
Besides the research aspect, it is also necessary to engage in a training practice about the protection of children’s rights for the magistrates as well as the lawyers and others who get involved in the process of finding protection for children who face the kind of problems described above. Given the complexities associated with the training of magistrates, in particular due to the various restraints that come from the entrenched administrative practices which are not conducive to better educate magistrates and lawyers regarding new methodologies, a way out can be found particularly in the use of virtual means to make it easier for the better communication of the ideas and practices relating to the protection of children. Thus, there needs to be an element of training on the one hand of a team of persons who could engage in such activity in developing socially and culturally acceptable forms of education, for magistrates, for lawyers, and everyone else who has some stake in this issue.
The third element that would be necessary is of course to engage in advocacy both with the Government, various authorities which are dealing with matters relating to the protection of children, and also policymakers such as Members of Parliament (MPs) of a variety of political standing and other public servants. It is also necessary to get the assistance from the UN child rights authorities and other international agencies in order to ensure that the matters that are learnt through this are transformed into educative material which could influence the inter-state dialogue of assisting the Sri Lankan Government for improving the Magistrate’s Courts for the protection of children.
This project involves the following components: 1) Ground research on the manner in which problems relating to violations of children’s rights are dealt with in Magistrate’s Courts; 2) Providing legal and psychological assistance to children brought before Magistrate’s Courts; 3) Providing facilities for the education of Magistrates, lawyers, parents, teachers, and paralegals, particularly by the use of virtual means; and 4) Advocacy for policy changes by governments in power, locally and internationally.
Indicators of such include: 1) Quarterly reports on ground research; 2) Legal and psychological assistance to victims – a minimum of 100 persons; 3) Educational sessions – in person, or by Zoom, YouTube, and professional videos; and 4) Policy changes on identified issues.
(The writer is the Asian Human Rights Commission’s Policy and Programmes Director)
……………………………..
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication. Improving services to young persons at Magistrate’s Courts
01 Mar 2022
Improving services to young persons at Magistrate’s Courts
01 Mar 2022
As it has been extensively reported by the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) and many other sources, child abuse in Sri Lanka is quite widespread. While in recent years the making of complaints on child abuse has increased, the actual way of getting an effective remedy for these complaints with the view to helping the victims on the one hand and also to create deterrence against this obnoxious practice has not been adequately achieved. Much of the criticism of the parents as well as the authorities themselves is on the area of the non-implementation of the legislative provisions which are already there. Besides this, there are also problems relating to delinquent children and other children who for one reason or another are brought before courts and who do not get a proper service in terms of the international norms and standards which have now been developed over such matters.
One of the major reasons for this lack of practical achievement in the area of the protection of the rights of the children is the problems which exist particularly within the framework of Magistrate’s Courts in Sri Lanka. It is because most of the matters relating to sexual abuse or other forms of problems relating to children’s protection come mostly before the Magistrate’s Courts. The observations we have made are that the existing practices around the Magistrate’s Courts in dealing with these children are so discouraging to the parents and to the children themselves and that this in turn acts as a factor that demoralises and discourages them from seeking legal protection relating to their problems.
If any effective protection is to be provided for children on the matters mentioned above, it is that the problems associated with the Magistrate’s Courts concerning children's rights need to be understood and addressed effectively.
To our knowledge, there has not been any serious study on the Magistrate’s Courts’ practices relating to the protection of children in Sri Lanka. Such a research would provide for a better understanding of the problem which in turn could help in the development of policies and also the adoption of practical methodologies to address these problems.
Besides the research aspect, it is also necessary to engage in a training practice about the protection of children’s rights for the magistrates as well as the lawyers and others who get involved in the process of finding protection for children who face the kind of problems described above. Given the complexities associated with the training of magistrates, in particular due to the various restraints that come from the entrenched administrative practices which are not conducive to better educate magistrates and lawyers regarding new methodologies, a way out can be found particularly in the use of virtual means to make it easier for the better communication of the ideas and practices relating to the protection of children. Thus, there needs to be an element of training on the one hand of a team of persons who could engage in such activity in developing socially and culturally acceptable forms of education, for magistrates, for lawyers, and everyone else who has some stake in this issue.
The third element that would be necessary is of course to engage in advocacy both with the Government, various authorities which are dealing with matters relating to the protection of children, and also policymakers such as Members of Parliament (MPs) of a variety of political standing and other public servants. It is also necessary to get the assistance from the UN child rights authorities and other international agencies in order to ensure that the matters that are learnt through this are transformed into educative material which could influence the inter-state dialogue of assisting the Sri Lankan Government for improving the Magistrate’s Courts for the protection of children.
This project involves the following components: 1) Ground research on the manner in which problems relating to violations of children’s rights are dealt with in Magistrate’s Courts; 2) Providing legal and psychological assistance to children brought before Magistrate’s Courts; 3) Providing facilities for the education of Magistrates, lawyers, parents, teachers, and paralegals, particularly by the use of virtual means; and 4) Advocacy for policy changes by governments in power, locally and internationally.
Indicators of such include: 1) Quarterly reports on ground research; 2) Legal and psychological assistance to victims – a minimum of 100 persons; 3) Educational sessions – in person, or by Zoom, YouTube, and professional videos; and 4) Policy changes on identified issues.
(The writer is the Asian Human Rights Commission’s Policy and Programmes Director)
……………………………..
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication. Kapruka
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Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!