A study on regional trends of child abuse victimization and response measures (with reference to the Bakamuna police area)

Abstract

Background: According to the legal definition, every human being under the age of 18 is considered a 'child', and all the conditions that a child should have to protect them are meant by 'child rights'. Child rights are severely violated through child abuse. Although the body of knowledge gathered on this subject is vast, a relative lack of research related to the conditions prevailing regionally in the country can be identified. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to study the recent trends of child abuse incidents existing at the rural level and the related legal situations. Method: This research, which followed a mixed research design, used child abuse incidents reported in the Polonnaruwa Bakamuna police area from 2018 to 2024 as the sample. Interviews were conducted with officers of the Children and Women's Bureau of the Bakamuna Police to obtain primary data, and police reports on child abuse reported to that police station and related legal actions were used as secondary sources. Microsoft Excel software and thematic analysis were used for data analysis. Results: According to the study, 82 child abuse incidents were reported during the relevant period, which includes 45 major offenses and 37 minor offenses. During the relevant period, the most frequently reported incidents were sexual abuse and rape of girls under 16 years of age. Also, it was identified that the majority of abused children were 10-15 years old. Although lawsuits have been filed in the Magistrate's Court for all reported abuse incidents, it was identified that the relevant legal proceedings for 46 incidents have not been completed. Conclusion: Based on these research results, it can be concluded that there is a high trend of child sexual abuse in this area compared to other forms of child abuse. The strong need to provide sexual awareness to children concurrently with adolescence is important for prevention, and the need for sustainable legal reforms to remove the harmful impact on the child's future due to the delay in judicial proceedings is also proposed.