This Children's Day: Action Demanded, Not Celebration

Over the last few months, Sri Lanka has been plagued with continuous reports of child abuse. Horrendous accounts of abuse, rape, and murder have emerged following the period in which Sri Lanka grappled with a growing pandemic.

- Kalani Kumarasinghe

Child cruelty cases as a total rose from 10% to 40%

53% of the total complaints meaning 42,073 complaints had not been resolved

A petition signed by 13,823 people urged govt. to take immediate action against child abuse

The group founded on social media has 50,000 members and have organised a demonstration today

In April, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the National Child Protection Agency (NCPA) issued a statement citing grave concerns over the dramatic rise in the proportion of child cruelty cases reported to the 1929 child helpline since the start of Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 curfew. In just three weeks between March 16 and April 7 this year, the proportion of child cruelty cases as a total all reported child protection complaints, rose from 10 per cent to 40 per cent, they said.

The Daily Mirror has continued to report on the many horrific cases of child abuse that taint Sri Lanka. With demands for justice growing, little has been actually achieved the fight against this disease. Despite the light shed on grievous inaction on part of the authorities appointed to safeguard children as well as corrupt action of law- enforcement officers, abuse of children continue to grow. As Sri Lanka celebrates yet another Children’s Day, activists are now demanding action, and not commemoration, nor celebration.