Should not undermine anti-child abuse laws activists say

By APSARA RODRIGO

(ECONOMYNEXT) Sri Lanka’s plans to decriminalize homosexuality to prevent discrimination against the LBGTQ community should not lead to a weakening of child abuse laws which already have some loopholes, activists have warned.

Sections 365 states that ‘whosoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or child,’ is guilty of an offence. Section 365 A states that ‘any person who, in public or private, commits, or is party to the commission of, or procures or attempts to procure the commission by any person of, any act of gross indecency,’ is also criminally liable.

These offences are aggravated in the case of its commission on a child.

“This will automatically abolish the entire amendment brought under act number 22 of 1995. According to our view, it automatically decriminalizes child abuse under section 365 and section 365A,” said Shermila Gonawala, the chairperson of Urban Citizens, in a letter to the president.

Urban Citizens is a civic group made up of professionals, academics as well as members of the community who advocate for political change.However, the criminal status of child abuse has always been questioned by political and civil rights activists.

“Married women are not eligible to take action against rape if it came from their husband,” said an activist involved with the Sisterhood Initiative.

“Since the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act recognizes the legality of a marriage of a girl as young as twelve without her consent, there is no protection afforded to Muslim girls.

“Even if an unmarried minor girl is raped, she is often married off to her rapist which allows her rapist to escape prosecution as her husband. Girls younger than 12 can also be married under the act if the marriage is authorized by a Quazi.”

However, this provision of the Penal Code only addresses child sexual abuse and does not address physical, verbal, emotional or psychological abuse.

Section 308 A of the Penal Code criminalizes causing or procuring a child to be ‘assaulted and ill-treated,’ however section 71 (6) states that nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting the right of any parent, teacher or any other person having lawful control or charge of a child or young person to administer punishment to him.’

Although section 71 (6) legalizes corporal punishment of children as a form of discipline, many activists and academics have been calling for this law to be changed.A study done by Piyanjali De Zoysa and Lalini Rajapaksha of the University of Colombo and Peter Newcombe showed that ‘the increasing levels of corporal punishment were significantly associated with a child’s psychological maladjustment.’

In 2021 the Sri Lankan Supreme Court presided over a case where a 15-year-old student had been slapped across the face by one of his teacher’s resulting in permanent hearing loss.The court held that the teacher violated article 11 of the constitution which prohibits torture and cruel, inhumane or degrading treatments.