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

8.4.8.2 Safe shelter and crisis response
Through the Probation and Child Care Services Department, the Government engages in
‘rehabilitation’ of children through government institutions and registered NGO shelters. 459
Children in prostitution, children living on the street and abandoned children are referred by
court order or handed over by local organizations, and many are placed in institutions by
parents or guardians. The intention is for children to be rehabilitated through educational
programmes, counselling and employment training.
However, as in Bangladesh, the prevalent concept of ‘rehabilitation’ through
institutionalization has not proven beneficial to the majority of children, particularly in
institutions operated by the government. Such settings have been shown to be detrimental to
young people’s well-being and development 460 and the government and most NGOs lack the
resources to conduct effective rehabilitation programmes. In addition, parents or guardians
have been known to place children in institutions as an alternative to providing care
themselves. Government and private shelters and ‘orphanages’ abound in Sri Lanka, and
concern has been expressed about the excessive institutionalization of children. 461
Community-based rehabilitation alternatives have been little explored in Sri Lanka.
The government operates a variety of institutions for children, including certified schools for
children older than 12 years and remand homes in which victims of crimes aged 16 or
younger are placed for short periods while awaiting presentation before the court or return to
their parents or guardian.
Some models of child-friendly institutional care have been developed, including a training
and counselling institution in Kalutara district for sexually victimized children, maintained by
the Probation and Child Care Services Department and previously supported by ILO. The
children, who remain for a year and a half, receive care from child psychiatrists, doctors and
vocational training instructors. The NCPA, with the Probation and Child Care Services
Department, has also developed a model for institutional rehabilitation. It has been piloted in
two centres for trafficked children established by the NCPA, in Negombo and Moratuna.
NGO-operated institutions, referred to as children’s homes, serve as the primary residence for
the many children institutionalized by the court and civil society groups. Their quality of care
varies considerably, from exceptional to inadequate. Most provide adequate food, shelter and
education and rudimentary vocational training activities. Few offer professional counselling
services. Problems noted in both government and NGO institutions are the intermingling of
child criminals and child victims and of young and older children; uniform programming for
all children; and lack of funds for physical facilities, medical care and recreational space.
Many have poorly trained staff. Discipline, including corporal punishment, is a concern. 462
459
International Labour Organization (S. Amarasinghe), 2002, ‘Sri Lanka: The commercial sexual exploitation
of children: A rapid assessment”.
460
International Save the Children Alliance, 2003, ‘A last resort: The growing concern about children in
residential care’.
461
International Labour Organization (S. Amarasinghe), 2002, op.cit.
462
International Labour Organization (S. Amarasinghe), 2002, ‘Sri Lanka: The commercial sexual exploitation
of children: A rapid assessment’.
145