Sri Lanka: Sexual predators run riot in schools

Parents reluctant to complain due to social stigma, intimidation

Last week, a Kegalle district primary school principal was arrested for sexually abusing eight schoolgirls. The father to two children, 52-year-old Swamivelu Sukumar is accused of showing pornography and then on several occasions sexually abusing the victims aged between 11 to 13 years.

The principal was apprehended after a child who had dropped out of school confided to government officials that the reason she was no longer attending school was because the principal was ‘hurting’ her.

Child abuse at the Vavuniya children’s home: The government’s inaction

  Womens Action Network 

In October 2013 Kalyana Tissa Thero of the Seth Sevana Lama Nivasa of Attambagaskanda, Vavuniya was arrested for sexually abusing a 9 year old child. The Buddhist monk was kept in remand custody and medical evidence confirmed the sexual abuse of the child on 12.10.2013. Subsequently the custody of the remaining 22 children of the children’s home was taken by the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) on 15.10.2013. Fearing that the remaining children may have also been sexually abused the Vavuniya magistrate requested the medical examination of the 22 children. Through the court order the suspect remained in custody. However on 31.12.2013 the suspected monk was granted a non-conditional bail on the basis that the Attorney General Department (AG), on the instructions of the NCPA has informed court that it has no objections for the suspect to be granted bail.  The next hearing is to be on the 11^th of February.