The National Child Protection Authority says it hopes to prepare a list of people convicted of child sexual abuse.
The chairman of that authority, senior lecturer Udaya Kumara Amarasinghe said that this step has been taken considering the risk to children from the concerned persons.
Mr. Udaya Kumara Amarasinghe has mentioned this while attending a press conference held at the Health Promotion Bureau.
“Those who have been convicted of child abuse offences, particularly sexual abuse, and return to premises where children are present after serving their sentence, are at risk to children. Therefore, a system should be made to limit these. We have suggested several ways so far. The Child Protection Authority is planning to create a register of child abuse offenders. Even if they are free, only those who need it can get that information. Secondly, we are discussing whether we can introduce legal provisions to restrict or prevent those convicted of serious abuse in cases of sexual abuse, even after serving their sentences, from entering premises where they deal directly with children.”
Mr. Udaya Kumara Amarasinghe also mentioned that there is some growth in the cases of sexual abuse of children in the last year.
Meanwhile, 1,618 cases of rape of girls under the age of 18 have been reported throughout Sri Lanka in 2022, and this will be 1,639 by 2023.
Mr. Udaya Kumara Amarasinghe also said that 1,232 incidents of sexual assault have been reported in 2022, and such incidents have increased to 1,497 in 2023.
In addition, he said that 13 cases of child sexual abuse have been reported in 2022 and 22 in 2023.
