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Parental neglect leading to spike in child sex abuse
A sickening series of child sexual abuse cases in recent weeks underscores a sharp rise in complaints of abuse, and officials say parental neglect is the main cause. The Chairman of the managing board of the Mahaweli Disabled Children’s Home in Marawila was remanded until 9 December over the charge of alleged sexual abuse of two girls aged 13 and 15, while the matron, also facing charges, has been released on bail.
The suspects were arrested after an investigation carried out by the Marawila Probation and Child Care office and were produced before the Marawila Magistrate. In another case on December 3, a seven-year-old girl in Dambana, Mahiyangana was reported to have been severely molested by a 15-year-old after who had enticed her into a nearby forest after telling her falsehoods.
Last month, the Ven. Atambagaskada Kalyanatissa who runs the Neth Sewana Children’s Home in Vavuniya was remanded for abusing four children in his care. On November 25 a seven-year-old boy was abused by a prisoner at the Welikada Prison grounds recently after having come for cricket practice at a playground close by. The offender had been cleaning the grounds, part of his prison duties. Police say he had offered the boy chocolate and lured him into a toilet and attacked him there.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sandungahawatta of the Child and Women’s Bureau claims child sexual abuse cases have decreased compared to last year, when 1887 cases were reported. “People might see an increase or a persistent number of abuse cases only because of the several highlighted incidents in media but the actual figures shows a decline in complaints than past years,” he said.
No figures are available for cases reported this year. The SSP told The Sunday Times that most cases were being reported in Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa while in the past the highest number of complaints was recorded in Sabaragamuwa Province.
“We identify the areas where number of abuse cases are reported and pay more attention to those after analysing the data,” he said.
Children are most vulnerable age to sexual abuse between the ages of five to 15 years, he said, and the main reason they become victims is due to lack of protection from parents even though they belong to two-parent families. “Parents should take good care of them. But some parents are less educated and even less thoughtful about their own kids,” he added. “There are cases where parents molest their own children. Nowadays, people lack ethical values.”
“The children whose mothers are migrated to Middle East as house maids are vulnerable,” said Department of Probation and Child Care Services Probation Officer, Nirmali Perera, adding, “Some parents never return.” “In most of the incidents the offender is a known person to the child who can easily influence the kid. Therefore cases of incest are common when it comes to sexual child abuse,” she added.
The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) said there had been a visible increase in complaints following the launch of an awareness campaign: victims had become more informed about the gravity of the crime, and more confident about reporting it, she said.
“We have formed Child Protection Committees at schools island-wide and make the students aware of unsafe sexual relationships,” a NCPA official said, adding that even if girls under the age of 16 consented to a sexual act such an act was a crime as the children were under the age of consent.