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The Ministry of Women and Child Affairs has taken necessary action with regard to the recent reports of Sri Lankan children being trafficked overseas, State Minister of Women and Child Affairs Geetha Kumarasinghe said today.
Addressing the Parliament, State Minister Geetha Kumarasinghe said that it has been found that 13 children have been trafficked to Malaysia to be sold to European countries.
She further said that instructions have been issued to the Department of Immigration and Emigration and the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) to immediately conduct an…
This is a series of written interviews conducted with care-experienced persons from Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka who have had experience with alternative care.
These interviews were published in the September 2023 issue of the Institutionalised Children Explorations and Beyond journal.
Abstract:
Reflecting on the last decade, a promising trend is emerging in the promotion of family-based alternatives for children in Sri Lanka. Despite some plateauing due to certain humanitarian, environmental, financial and political issues, there is a move to reduce the number of children in residential care. The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka has a history of institutionalised care dating back to the nineteenth century and formalised care starting in the mid-twentieth century. Back then, the country faced many challenges including economic crises, a brutal war and a…
In this editorial, Ian Forber-Pratt, editor of this tenth anniversary edition of the Institutionalised Children Explorations and Beyond, gives an of alternative care in Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.
Introduction:
Over the past decade, the South Asian region has witnessed remarkable efforts in reforming child protection systems from institutions as the first resort to providing a wide range of family-based.
This tenth anniversary edition of the journal gives a real, raw, and…
Sri Lanka government officials visited the state of Rajasthan in India to view family-based care models that will inform Sri Lanka’s child protection system as the country transitions into an innovative approach that supports children in family settings. CERI, in partnership with UNICEF Sri Lanka and UNICEF India, hosted the delegation’s visit to family-strengthening, foster care, and group foster care models implemented by Foster Care Society and the Department of Child Rights in Rajasthan.
This report provides a summary of the learning exchange that took place between the Sri Lankan government and the Indian State of Rajasthan's government around family-strengthening, foster care, and group foster care models implemented by Foster Care Society and the Department of Child Rights in Rajasthan, India.
The goal of this exchange was to allow child protection experts and stakeholders from different regions to interact with and learn from each other, allowing them to view…
Background
There is evidence that children in residential care institutions (RCI) have higher rates of psychological problems, suicide and criminal behaviour. There is only one study in Sri Lanka which has examined the psychological well-being of children in RCIs. Further evidence is needed to formulate policies related to the mental health of institutionalized children in the local context.
Methods
A cross sectional descriptive study was carried out in a selected RCI, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. All children (> 4 years) and adolescents who have been in the institution for more than 3…
Tens of thousands of children in India, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and other Asian countries are living as child Buddhist monks. Many are in temples and monasteries far from home and do not see their parents for months, even years. Some are as young as 6 years of age.
The aim of this article is to engage scholars, practitioners, child rights advocates, and others in a conversation around the rights and vulnerabilities of child Buddhist monks and children susceptible to being entrusted to monasteries to live as child monks. This group of children receives relatively little attention in…
Governments around the world responded to the spread of COVID-19 by imposing lockdowns, quarantines and school closures. While these measures have contained the spread of the virus, they have also increased the risk factors for intimate partner violence and child abuse, leading to what the UN has described as “the shadow pandemic of domestic violence”.
Family for Every Child alliance members have been in close contact with children, families and communities during the pandemic. They have seen that domestic violence is being inflicted on children either directly in the form of child abuse,…
The WHO South-East Asia Regional Office in collaboration with UNICEF organized a 3-day virtual meeting from 27 to 29 April, 2021. The meeting brought together over 100 participants from WHO-SEAR countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka , Thailand and Timor-Leste) and two countries from UNICEF-ROSA (Afghanistan Pakistan). Participants included government delegates from relevant ministries (health, nutrition, education, child protection, women and child affairs), WHO and UNICEF staff and partners.
On Day 1, participants reflected on progress to date…