A philosophical study on child abuse due to telephone misuse: Based on police complaints in the Bulathkohupitiya area

Abstract

Background: According to the Charter on the Rights of the Child of the Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka, every person under the age of 18 is called a child. The child, who grows up under parental care from a young age, gradually gets exposed to various activities related to mobile phones as they are exposed to society. It has become a widespread problem today because the percentage of child abuse occurring through this mobile phone misuse is increasing day by day. Method: The mixed methodology was used in this study. Accordingly, 25 complaints reported in selected Grama Niladhari Divisions in the Bulathkohupitiya police area (in the years 2023, 2024) regarding child abuse due to telephone misuse were used as secondary data sources under random sampling, and interviews were used as primary data sources. Results: According to the collected data and information, minors in the age groups of 14-17 years (42%) have been subjected to various abuses due to telephone misuse. Furthermore, it was revealed that many social, cultural, and psychological factors such as fulfilling unsatisfactory sexual desires by using mobile phones improperly, lack of proper knowledge about sexual education, love affairs formed with the aim of eliminating one's loneliness, and ignorance about modern technology have contributed to the prevalence of such child abuse . It was also implied that as adverse consequences of child abuse occurring in this way, situations such as disruption of educational activities, the emergence of child mothers, and suffering from mental depression have arisen in the study area. Conclusion: It was confirmed that the nature of the family environment, weaknesses in socialization, individual mental states, as well as the socio-cultural environment, etc., influence the increase in child abuse occurring in this way. Therefore, this research emphasizes the importance of creating an environment that ensures the safety and well-being of children.