Rising child abuse cases: New measures include video evidence to spare victims court agony
Parents will be given instructions on child care and advised to report to the unit if they notice suspicious behaviour on the part of people around their children.
While a shocked nation, for the past five weeks, has been finding it difficult to digest the revolting details of how a 15-year-old girl was sex- trafficked online, police have uncovered another harrowing child abuse case in Nawalapitiya where a 13- year- old girl has been sexually exploited by her biological father and his female friend.
Police investigations have led to the arrest of four suspects, with six more persons absconding arrests.
As police investigation continues into the Nawalapitiya case, the Colombo Magistrate’s court on Friday granted bail to two suspects arrested in connection with the sexual abuse of the 15-year-old girl.
The suspects have been released on a cash bail of Rs. 25,000 and a personal bail of Rs. 2.5 million each. In addition they have been ordered to report to the Women and Children Bureau ( WCB) in Colombo between 9 a.m. and noon every day until the next hearing.
The girl's mother was released on two surety bails of one million each when the case was taken up on July 7. The two suspects and the mother were among some 34 suspects arrested in this case. Police said they were on the trail of several other suspects who are at large.
The suspects in custody are in the 40- 50 age group and they include a ruling party Pradeshiya Sabha chairman, a Navy cardiologist, a gem merchant, a leading businessman, a former state minister of the Maldives.
The Navy doctor and the Mihintale Pradeshiya Sabha chairman have been suspended from their posts.
Meanwhile, the WCB has requested the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC) to submit a report of all websites that peddle children for sexual acts.
The request came after an additional magistrate directed the WCB to seek the TRC’s assistance when the WCB sought a court order to block websites which it suspected were involved in child sex trafficking.
With more child abuse cases being reported in recent weeks, moves are under way to set up video evidence recording units across the country to spare child victims the agony of going through their harrowing experience over and again during court proceedings.
Under this initiative spearheaded by the National Child Protection Authority ( NCPA), child victims' statements recorded at these units will be saved as video files to be used as evidence in judicial processes.
A pilot project of this initiative was tried out in 2001 in accordance with the Evidence ( Special provision) Act no. 32 of 1999.
The process would help young victims during judicial proceedings to overcome the trauma of reliving or being repeatedly reminded of distasteful incidents in their lives, NCPA c h a i r man Pro f Muditha Vidanapathirana said.
In every province, the units will be established in main hospitals.
The NCPA has already begun the recruitment process to run the units at Karapitiya and Ragama hospitals, the NCPA chairman said.
Each unit will employ seven per
sonnel as counsellors, technical staff, typists and translators.
The units will also involve in its work parents, friends, teachers and the grama sevaka of the area.
Parents will be given instructions on child care and advised to report to the unit if they notice suspicious behaviour on the part of people around their children.
Prof Vidanapathirana said the NCPA would keep a close watch on cases reported and ensure that justice was being done.
Cases that were not handled to the satisfaction of the NCPA would be reinvestigated by the NCPA police to bring the perpetrators to justice, he said
Last year alone, 52 such cases were handled by the NCPA and action filed in courts.