Concrete Angels: Creating a safer environment for all children
In a bid to create a safer environment for children, young Shiandra Gooneratne (21), init i ated her Non- Pro f i t Organization, ‘ Concrete Angels’ which aims to create awareness on the issue surrounding child sexual exploitation.
“Due to the seriousness as well as the extremity of this challenging issue, realistically, it would be quite difficult to completely eradicate it, but I’m certain that as we grow and develop in the years to come, we will be able to minimize it,” said Shiandra.
According to the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF); one-third of countries, at least 5 percent of young women reported experiences of sexual violence during childhood.
Furthermore, according to the statistics of the National Child Protection Authority of Sri Lanka (NCPA), 11,000 odd incidents of rape, 4,000 odd incidents of serious sexual abuse and more than 5000 cases of child abuse were reported between 2012 to 2020 within the country.
Shiandra is a past pupil of Holy Family Convent Bambalapitiya and currently a law undergraduate at Royal Institute Colombo (University of London). Her love and enthusiasm for social change and towards child rights, gave way to ‘Concrete Angels’.
Concrete angels is a primary network of like-minded and keen girls of 18 years and above, striving to work towards a safer Sri Lanka for all children irrespective of race, religion and social/economic conditions. It was initiated back in October 2014.
“I represented Sri Lanka at the South Asian Finals of Horlicks Wizkids 2014, held in Bangalore India, and as our community service project we were required to engage in creating awareness on child sexual abuse,” said Shiandra.
“Later, as we learnt during the course of the projects, the huge dearth of knowledge on the matter of child sexual abuse, especially outside Colombo and the lack of initiatives exclusively dealing with this issue, I decided, with a group of my friends to start Concrete Angels. While I initiated this project when I was 15, it was always my desire to take the project forward after leaving school,” she added.
The organization strives to create awareness on the issue of child sexual abuse in Sri Lanka, but in the future they aim to be a leading network in protecting children from child sexual abuse, offering legal aid to protect victims’ rights.
Further Shiandra believes that addressing this issue would require a two-fold process; one through awareness and preventive measures and a second through a system of enforcement.
People must have confidence in the government mechanisms to protect the privacy of children who are victims, legal protection of victims and witnesses (already enacted by law) and enforcement of expeditious legal proceedings, she adds.
Shiandra and her team, hope to conduct awareness programmes mainly focused on children in the age group of 4- 18. The outreach will cover children, parents, teachers and educational institutes.
The all-girl organization works as volunteers, sharing knowledge, expertise and experience in protecting children. The specialty of the organization is that the main team is an all-girls network, between the ages of 18-22 (currently) with the intention of promoting female volunteerism. They have undergone training programmess by professionals, on various aspects of child sexual exploitation and it remains a learning process for them.
“We are thankful to all those who have trained and directed us, and given us expert advice, to the best of their abilities,” says Shiandra.
The impact of child sexual abuse largely affects society on two levels; the personality of the victims, as well as their mental health. The post- traumatic stress associated with abuse largely affects their development as it becomes strained owing to social barriers. The effects of this trauma prop up only much later in life. This affects not only their personal and family life, but it could create a ripple effect in society.
Further, she adds the common misconception tthat child sexual abuse is often associated with female victims only. However, boys too are particularly vulnerable to these dangers. Shiandra urge all parents, adults and the general public to be vigilant and alert to any signs of a child facing such danger.
For any emergency, adults could contact the NCPA hotline on 1929 and if anyone is interested in supporting the work of concrete angels, do get in touch with them through their social media handles @concreteangelslk (Instagram) or email: concreteangelslk@gmail.com