It should not HURT to be a CHILD
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As reports of child sexual abuse or else sexual harassment is always featured in most of the newsfeeds from across the country with regular and horrifying frequency, it is evident that Sri Lanka is facing a nationwide crisis of child abuse/ harassment. According to what we hear and see it is evident that there is no reduction instead there is a drastic increase in the number of cases reported. One cannot imagine how many more go unreported. Amidst all these, Laws are in place and departments and ministries are established to protect Sri Lankan children. Then, why have we failed to protect our children?
NCPA: The National Child Protection Authority is the main authority responsible for child protection in the country. Many reports reveals that the increase of child abuse cases in Sri Lanka is the result of numerous failures on the part of the National Child Protection Authority. Delaying in formulating a national policy, no progress in maintaining or preparing a national database on child abuse, complains and cases remains unresolved-stuck with no progress, are some of the areas that should be concerned in order to establish a secure country for your child to live peacefully.
Very recently we heard how a mother of a 9 year old child allegedly believed her daughter had been possessed by a demon and had taken her to the home of an exorcist, where the exorcist, an unidentified woman, repeatedly hit her with a cane, claiming it was a way to drive out a demon that had possessed the child, thus the 9 year old child had collapsed after the beating. Imagine a mother allowing a woman to beat her own child! From this incident child abuse/sexual harassment in Sri Lanka has been taken to another crucial level, thus nowadays children should be protected from not only outsiders but from their very own parents. After-all, whom should the child trust, from whom should the child expect shelter, protection, love and care?
The real pandemic is yet to be initiated, the pandemic where your child will be a victim of this hellish world where , parents who are believed to be the guardian angels protecting their children, themselves tend to kill their own blood- children can no longer trust their parents. In order to combat child abuse and sexual harassment in Sri Lanka, we have to stand against child abuse and harassment, thus peer pressure has been shown as to be one of the most effective ways to achieve social change. The government has an obligation to increase legal accountability, but society must also play a role in addressing the problem. All men and women are not predators who are waiting for their pray. It is therefore other Sri Lankan citizens –- the majority of whom are not predators –- who have a great deal of power to combat the problem. we must consistently make it clear to our associates that child abuse and harassment is not normal, not respectable and not acceptable and we should be attentive in order to combat such discrepancies in the society and to safeguard the innocent smiles of the country.
Do you think that every child should have have the right to protection? Should they have the right to survive, to be safe, to belong, to be heard, to receive adequate care and to grow up in a protective environment?
I too agree with your statement. Unfortunately the world has become like this and no one seems to take action. It is truly sickening to things like parents abusing or hitting children.
ReplyDelete“thus nowadays children should be protected from not only outsiders but from their very own parents”
I strongly agree that children should be protected from their own parents too. Laws about domestic violence should be increased. Children should be encouraged to speak up about their problems. Their voices are mostly unheard in the society. This needs to stop. Media should make more awareness of the negativity of child abuse and emphasize that it is a crime to hit anyone, even that is your child.
Incompetence of higher authorities and NCPA might also be a reason for this tragedy other than the society which lacks empathy. They need to take more action regarding this issue. Children are getting abused on a daily basis and most of them are not spoken to. Imagine how these kinds of incidents might affect a child and the trauma he/she will get. So as individuals in society let us try our best to teach others compassion and teach ourselves empathy. Because even a Little difference like this might make a change in society.
" Children should be encouraged to speak up about their problems." This is a really good point. A point that many of us should rethink of. its true that we keep on saying that if a girl is abused or else if a small boy is beaten up, he or she should talk with someone trustworthy, should talk with their parents without keeping it to themselves. But the problem here is if a child is beaten up by their parents he or she will surely rethink before reaching out to some other adult. why? how can a child trust outsiders when his or her loved ones does wrong with her. So what I believe is that there should be some other protocol to manage such instances and to avoid such situations in the future. Maybe each and every school should have student counsellors who are only given the responsibility to talk with children and their issues only if they feel ok to share their problems. Likewise the authorities should think of this matter more openly and seriously, yet when will they think about such things, on a sarcastic note what they are interested in is only building their own empire and feeding their own children with the so called earned money, 'why should I think about some outsiders child?'- The authorities seems to think this way. This is exactly why we are still a developing country.
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