SEXUAL ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION OF BOYS IN SOUTH ASIA A ...

In 1998, the National Child Protection Authority Act established an interdisciplinary
governmental body to address sexual exploitation, trafficking, forced labour and illegal
adoption. At its inception, the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) was a semiindependent
authority reporting directly to the prime minister. Its mandate included advising
the government on prevention of child abuse and protection of children, recommending
reforms for effective implementation of national policy and monitoring the implementation of
Sri Lankan law in protecting children from abuse and exploitation. As well as government
representatives from the Ministry of Labour, the Probation and Child Care Services
Department, police and Attorney General’s office, the NCPA also includes psychologists,
paediatricians and psychiatrists who promote research on child abuse, support quality
rehabilitation and reintegration practices, and work with civil society organizations to
mobilize campaigns and training programmes on child abuse in schools and communities.
The NCPA has conducted training programmes for police, probation officers, caregivers and
legal authorities on child-friendly court procedures and child interviewing methodologies. It
has also produced a guide, ‘Interviewing Children: Video Interviewing Manual’. The NCPA
has worked with physicians, police and psychologists to collect forensic information on child
abuse and has produced a manual for doctors on medical forensic investigation of sexual
abuse. To strengthen linkages and referral mechanisms at the community level, the National
Child Protection Authority Act dictated the establishment of district child protection
committees. These committees, established in 13 districts, coordinated the activities of
probation workers, caregivers, police, judiciary and health workers at the local level. Several
years ago, however, the NCPA was incorporated into government bureaucracy, and it no
longer reports directly to the prime minister. Having lost its autonomy, the NCPA’s
productive output has diminished in the last few years.
In 2004, the Sri Lanka Tourist Board and the Ministry of Tourism, with UNICEF support,
developed a background paper and Plan of Action for the Protection of Children from Sexual
Exploitation in Travel and Tourism. The Plan of Action extended for a three-year period,
from 2005 through 2007, and included a description of activities to be conducted, budget and
timeframe for action. Its strategic objectives included prevention by creating community
awareness of sexual exploitation of children through tourism in source areas of the country. It
also was meant to create ‘cautionary awareness’ among tourists that Sri Lanka has zero
tolerance for tourism aimed at sexual exploitation of children, and that perpetrators will be
arrested and prosecuted using the tourists’ home country extraterritorial legislation as well as
Sri Lankan law. The Plan of Action encouraged the government – as in the NPATC – to
review existing laws and policies and implement new ones to address tourism based on
sexual exploitation of children. As with the NPATC, the Plan of Action aimed to coordinate
police, social services authorities, district child protection committees and NGOs in tourist
areas. Finally, it intended to develop the project management capacity of the Tourist Board.
While this Plan of Action is commendable, it repeats many objectives and actions designated
for the NCPA in the National Child Protection Authority Act. These include coordination of
local stakeholders, review of legislation and awareness activities for police and community
members. At the same time, its provisions for mobilizing the private tourism sector are weak,
primarily limited to adherence to a code of conduct and some awareness activities. In
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