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Spotlight on how to protect children
View(s):- Landmark ICCP’25 next weekend brings together policymakers, development partners, academia, local stakeholders and potential donors
The need is dire and stakeholders who have the interests of children close to their hearts will sit down together next week not only to focus on protection issues but also to broaden perspectives.
The protection issues faced by children are chilling, not just globally but locally as well.
- Of a 2.4 billion global child population, violence affects 1 billion children (UNICEF 2021)
- In 2024, there were 6,434 incidents of violence against children in Sri Lanka (Data from Women’s & Children’s Bureau, Sri Lanka Police)
The landmark International Conference on Child Protection (ICCP) 2025 on the vital theme ‘Broadening Perspectives’ which will put under the spotlight violence against children in its various forms in Sri Lanka and globally, will be inaugurated on July 25 at the BMICH, Colombo. The two-day conference will be at the Faculty of Computing and Technology (FCT) premises (Bulugaha Junction), University of Kelaniya, on July 26 and 27.
Dr. Asvini Fernando
ICCP’25 is hosted by the Centre for Gender Studies, University of Kelaniya, in cooperation with the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA), with UNICEF Sri Lanka as its primary supporter. It is supported by JURE (Support to Justice Sector Project), funded by the European Union and jointly implemented by UNICEF and UNDP in collaboration with the Justice Ministry.
“Child protection involves measures and systems designed to prevent and respond in a holistic manner to Violence against Children (VAC). It is time to wake up, bridge the gaps and broaden perspectives if we are to invest in the future of our nation,” reiterated Consultant Paediatrician Dr. Asvini D. Fernando,who chairs the Child Protection Committee of the Sri Lanka College of Paediatricians. She is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the inauguration.
Elaborating on VAC, she said it includes all forms of violence against those aged 0-18 years and may be perpetrated by parents, other care givers, peers, romantic partners or strangers. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), ‘child abuse & neglect’; ‘bullying’; ‘youth violence’; ‘intimate partner violence’; ‘sexual violence’; ‘psychological violence’; and ‘witnessing violence’, all fall under VAC.
Referring to the data from the Women’s & Children’s Bureau, Sri Lanka Police, which reveals 6,434 reported incidents of VAC in 2024, she says that for each of these, many more go unreported.
“Sri Lanka has shown commitment towards protecting the most vulnerable group of its society over the past decades as demonstrated by the establishment of the Women’s & Children’s Bureau of the Sri Lanka Police in 1979; signing the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child in 1991; and establishing the NCPA in 1998,” says Dr. Fernando, pointing out though that despite these steps, even to date, across all sectors there are some gaps.
These include services not being sufficiently child centred, lacking professionalism, inadequate coordination between sectors and problems being compounded by inordinate legal delays, according to her. “This leaves negative public perceptions, resulting in hesitancy in seeking services to the detriment of children, families, society and the nation.”
Prof. Anuruddhi Edirisinghe
Dr. Fernando urges each sector to look inwards and identify the gaps with a view to bridging them and broadening perspectives.
“There should be an umbrella body that monitors all services, with a view to improving responsibility and accountability of stakeholders. That body should indeed be the NCPA, which should be elevated to the position it was in, when established. Being placed under the Presidential Secretariat, it had had stature and power. Other Police Stations were answerable to the NCPA Police,” she says.
With regard to the prevention of VAC, the identification of risk factors is important, says Dr. Fernando, adding that dysfunctional families, unsafe use of information communication technology and the menace of illicit drugs were wreaking havoc in the lives of children. Deep rooted cultural beliefs were also hindering the delivery of comprehensive sexuality education to children.
Conference Chair, Senior Prof. Anuruddhi Edirisinghe, said that the conference will bring national and international knowledge and evidence on violence against children and child protection and gender studies to scholars, practitioners and local students (undergraduate and postgraduate). It would be an opportunity for professional exchange and learning.
Delving into the objectives of holding this important conference, she said that it would ensure increased awareness among policymakers, development partners, academia, local stakeholders and potential donors of the government’s commitments to ending violence against children. It would also demonstrate the importance of partnerships between academia and policymakers in designing evidence-based solutions to address violence against children.
The inauguration is due to be addressed by Chief Guest, Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne; Guest of Honour, Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara; Kelaniya University Vice Chancellor, Senior Professor Nilanthi de Silva; Ambassador of the European Union to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Carmen Moreno; and UNICEF Representative to Sri Lanka, Begoña Arellano.
A video message will be delivered by Guest of Honour, Dr. Najat Maalla M’jid, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Violence Against Children. (KH)
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