Heightened public awareness, increased vigilance by the government, and stiffer penalization has triggered a rise in reported cases of child abuse in Sri Lanka, leading to a higher conviction rate of offenders. The chairman of the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA), Professor Harendra de Silva, says there were 386 cases of child abuse in 2002, up from 276 cases the previous year. Of these, cases of sexual abuse, totaling 194, topped the list, followed by those of physical abuse (84). Unlike earlier, officials working with abused children say that enhanced awareness of subtler forms of abuse encourages children to complain to parents or elders. Parents too are now more aware of the warning signals and where to lodge complaints. Deputy inspector general of police Sirisena Herath, in charge of the the women's and children's police headquarters, says 600 girls under the age of 18 were sexually abused last year. Shockingly, this figure included two baby girls less than one year old and 60 under fives, all of whom were sexually molested. There are over 500,000 children living in difficult circumstances in Sri Lanka. The secretary to leading nongovernmental organization PEACE, Shirley Peiris, stresses that the increase in abuse and crime has occured within the context of a civil war or its aftermath. Peiris explains, "With the expansion of tourism, the spread of gun culture, and the devaluation of social norms, children are subject to a greater degree of abuse. Abuse was always present, but a significant proportion of the increase is due to more reporting." Agrees director of the STD/AIDS (news - web sites) Control Program, Dr I. Abeywickrema. "More people bring instances of child abuse to the notice of relevant authorities. They no longer consider it a stigma to get their children medically examined if it puts the abuser behind bars." Two NCPA officers, who wish to remain unnamed, say the spurt in child abuse is the fall-out of the twenty-year civil war with its attendant violence, displacement and over-crowding in refugee camps. After sustained pressure from NGOs, the Sri Lankan government has amended the country's penal laws, increasing the punishment for child abuse. Rape now carries a minimum jail term of nine years and a fine. Rape with injury and violence carries a stiffer punishment. A senior officer at Colombo's Borella police station says 80 percent of such cases heard in the magistrate's court end in conviction. Nine child abusers were sentenced to imprisonment and had to pay heavy fines during the last twelve months. Founder-director of PEACE, Maureen Seneviratne, claims that," Since 1998 there has been a reduction in sexual exploitation due to vigilance and monitoring." Officials say steps like publicizing the existence of the NCPA, greater police surveillance, and the institution of women's and children's desks in most police stations have helped combat the scourge. The authorities have also launched a publicity drive. Posters, flyers, television spots, seminars and workshops undertaken by the NCPA are gradually making a difference. One TV spot advises children not to allow any person to touch or feel their bodies. Seeing this, a child told his mother, his schoolteacher did just that. The pedophiliac teacher was immediately hauled up. The NCPA has instituted 12 district child protection committees in all provinces in the island, also pressing government officers and NGO representatives into service. "Working with the police through the women's and children's division, we monitor cases of child abuse from the time of reporting till the hearing in court," explains a young woman attorney-at-law, one of NCPA's officers. The police maintain children's and women's desks in almost all police stations nationwide. These desks coordinate with 34 district offices of the women's and children's division, facilitating the lodging of complaints by abused children or their relatives. A case study by the UK's Save the Children describes the trauma of a girl in a village in the North Central Province. Repeatedly raped by her mother's live-in partner, 14-year-old Wasanthie had a baby but her mother gave it to an orphanage. The case was reported to the police and on examination Wasanthie was found to have contracted a venereal disease. She was taken over by the child probation department and placed in a safe haven. Whether it is on a downward curve or stable, as Sri Lanka tackles this depravity on a war footing, child abusers are finally getting the message: Don't touch the kids. [Source: OneWorld South Asia]