Children having children

 National People's Force for Women was announced in conjunction with the International Women's Day on the eighth of March. We should pay attention to women's safety not only in this week but throughout the whole year.

According to the reports of the World Health Organization.  One in three women worldwide will experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.  They are sexual violence, human trafficking and domestic abuse.  Human trafficking, psychological abuse.  Linked to child marriage.

Harassment of women is reported almost everywhere on a daily basis. From my transport, at work, at home, I can see the same kind of harassment. It is questionable whether the law is implemented against the reported cases of harassment.

One third of the 30,000 cases filed in the High Courts, that is, 10,000 cases, are related to abuse of women and children," said Nilanthi Kottahachchi, Kalutara District Councilor of the National People's Force while addressing a Women's Day celebration held in Matara.

The most serious situation related to her statement is shown by the latest reports of the Police Child and Women Abuse Investigation Unit.  According to those reports, the number of child crimes in this country is 1502.  There were 339 cases of forced sexual abuse and 1163 cases of voluntary sexual abuse.  All these incidents were reported to the police.  There may be hundreds of other unreported incidents.

Most rapes are due to romantic relationships with people under the age of 16.  Whether they are intentional or unintentional, they can have a profound effect on one's self.  Girls between the ages of 14 and 17 are affected.  According to police reports, the male party responsible for these pregnancies is not over 18 years of age.

According to the law of Sri Lanka, if a young girl becomes pregnant, it is not possible to abort it. The reason for pregnancies that happen through sexual abuse is the lack of proper sex education. One of the proposals presented by the government was to provide sex education. But it was prevented through the Buddhist religious protest.

Weaknesses in law enforcement in Sri Lanka, existing obstacles in punishing criminals.  Strong social media networks, social and cultural attitudes, and weaknesses in identifying children who have been abused have a negative impact on the prevention of child abuse in the face of rapidly growing technology.

Legislators and law enforcement parties have a special responsibility to protect children's rights.

And in order to prevent child abuse, parents as well as society should be aware of it.  Even if children are abused, there is a situation where they don't say anything about it and keep it hidden due to various reasons.  In order for children to do their misdeeds without fear, the parent-child relationship must be strong.

However, the request of the government is to notify number 1929 if a crime is committed against a child and number 1938 if a crime is committed against a woman.