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In a “major milestone” in the history of childcare, the Sri Lanka College of (SLCP), not satisfied with just talking about the alarming rise in child abuse and neglect, has turned words into action.

Prof. Asvini Fernando. Pix by Indika Handuwala

It was at a simple but significant ceremony on Wednesday (December 4) that the ‘Guidelines for the Management of Child Abuse and Neglect: A Multi-Sectoral Approach’ as part of the SLCP’s initiative in ‘Creating safe communities for children’ were launched.

The distinguished gathering at the event included Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena, Child Development and Women’s Affairs Minister Tissa Karaliyadda, Supreme Court Judge and Medico-Legal Society of Sri Lanka President Justice Shirani Tilakawardene and SLCP President Prof. Dulani Gunasekara.

The pilot project on the ‘Guidelines’ will be launched in the Gampaha District in January next year (2014).
The ‘Guidelines’ are the result of exhaustive deliberations that began in 2010 under the auspices of the SLCP’s Child Protection Committee chaired by Prof. Asvini D. Fernando for whom this was “a dream come true”.

The aims of multi-sectoral management, according to Prof. Fernando are prevention of further victimisation of the child; placement of the child in a safe environment; prevention of stigma; ensuring the continuance of the child’s education; ensuring a process of psycho-social rehabilitation and reintegration; and legal justice with minimal delay.

A significant achievement through the ‘Guidelines’ would be the holding of a ‘Clinical Case Conference’ among the Forensic Pathologist, the Paediatrician and the Psychiatrist, the day after a victim of abuse is first seen. Other important factors in the ‘Guidelines’ include the requirement for each and every attendee at the Institutional Case Conference to sign a confidentiality clause; the inclusion of the recommendations of this conference in the Probation Officer’s report that is submitted to court; only police in civvies to visit the victim in the paediatric ward, school or home; and three-monthly follow-up meetings chaired by the Probation Officer and including the Paediatrician, the Psychiatrist, the Medical Officer of Health of the relevant area, the Public Health Nurse and the Public Health Midwife, in each and every case.

It was spurred by data (see graphic) from the Women’s and Children’s Bureau of the Police which were collaborated by hospital-based statistics, that the SLCP saw the urgent need for all stakeholders to unite and formulate an effective response when such an incident involving a child is reported, it is learnt.

These are only the reported cases, explained Prof. Fernando, pointing out that there may be several hundred not reported “shedding silent tears”. With the perpetrators in 96% child abuse incidents regrettably being adults “trusted” by the child, a prevention programme is also essential.

Explaining who the “at-risk” children are she said they were from dysfunctional families where the mother may be employed abroad, the parents are separated/divorced, the biological mother is absent as the caretaker at the time of the incident, the fathers are alcoholics, there is a lack of extended family support and those in the plantation sector. Children also seemed more vulnerable during the chena cultivation season.

Earlier, SLCP President Prof. Dulani Gunasekara stressing that the fruition of the efforts of the Child Protection Committee was a “milestone”, traced the beginnings of earnest child protection work in the country to the 1990s with Consultant Paediatrician Prof. Harendra de Silva then heading the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA).

SLCP President Prof. Dulani Gunasekara

The Child Protection Committee’s project for ‘Creating safe communities for children’ has two objectives — better management of victims of abuse and neglect and prevention of child abuse and neglect, the Sunday Times learns.

Pointing out that the ‘better management of victims’ is essentially multi-sectoral, a series of meetings were convened with the participation of professional bodies, ministries, departments, non-governmental organisations and private sector organisations, Prof. Asvini Fernando said.

They included the Sri Lanka College of Psychiatrists; the College of Forensic Pathologists of Sri Lanka; the Medico-Legal Society of Sri Lanka; the Health Ministry; the Child Development and Women’s Affairs Ministry; the Education Ministry; the Justice Ministry; the Attorney General’s Department, the Women’s and Children’s Bureau of the Police; the Probation and Child Care Services Department; the NCPA; Plan Sri Lanka; Canadian Red Cross; Bharti Airtel; and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

On the prevention front, a booklet on ‘Let’s protect our children from abuse and neglect’ for parents and teachers compiled by the Child Protection Committee and printed by Bharti Airtel as part of its corporate social responsibility had been launched at the SLCP’s Annual Academic Sessions last year. The translations of this booklet into Sinhala and Tamil were launched on December 4 and are to be distributed across the country.

Meanwhile, posters on the prevention of child abuse and neglect with key messages in all three languages for both parents and children also designed by the Child Protection Committee and Plan Sri Lanka with inputs from the multi-sectoral committee and prnted by GSK – Pharmaceuticals were also launched on Wednesday. They were distributed the same day to people at bus halts, schools and hospitals.

This important event on December 4 was concluded with a street drama on the issue of child abuse by ‘Pipena Kusum’, a children’s group from Mailagaswewa in Medawachchiya.

Health Ministry Secretary Dr. Nihal Jayatilaka, Child Development and Women’s Affairs Ministry Secretary Eric Illayapparachchi, Justice Ministry Secretary Kamalini de Silva, Plan Sri Lanka Country Director Ned Espey, GSK-Pharmaceuticals Managing Director Steuart Chapman and Bharti Airtel’s Deputy General Manager (employee engagement) Paduma Subasinghe were also among those who graced the occasion.