Don’t wait for a poor victim to find out that either the lines are not working or that they are not being answered politely with empathy adding insult to injury.

Both physical and sexual abuse of Women and Children are rising in our beautiful island nation, Sri Lanka.
We as a nation with a recorded history of 2,500 plus years should be ashamed of ourselves beyond measure that evil such as the following exists.
Consider these: Domestic violence. Physical abuse and sexual abuse of women, Physical abuse of children. Sexual abuse of children, Sexual abuse of children in orphanages, Sexual abuse of children in juvenile correctional centres including prisons.

The following statistics, startling as they may be, are very real. 
-Two in every five women (39.8%) have suffered physical, sexual, emotional, and/or economic violence and/or controlling behaviours from a partner
-One in four (24.9%) women in Sri Lanka has experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a partner or a non-partner - there is an overlap between sexual and physical violence, which means that women who were subject to sexual violence by their partners were also physically abused. Furthermore, violence is rarely a one-time occurrence.
-5,891 child abuse cases were reported in the country from 2012 to 2020; Over 2,500 cases in the first 60 days of 2020.

"Our goal is to have a well-represented network of like-minded individuals and institutions engaged in this area of work in all 25 Districts, by March 2022, where every citizen in this country will know What to do, Whom to call when they or someone else they know seem to be in perceived danger as well as to Whom to go to and What assistance and recourse they have in the event of an unfortunate eventuality"

-There are approximately 40,000 children in Sri Lanka who are vulnerable to prostitution and the number of boys exploited by tourists for commercial sex ranges from 5,000 to 30,000. 
 Women have been given such a high place in our society historically to the extent that even our country is known as Sri Lanka Matha. (Mother Sri Lanka). 
When our mothers, sisters and daughters are treated so cruelly being abused both physically and sexually I wonder what led to the fast deterioration of our value system. 
Innocent children are being abused both physically and sexually and sometimes by their own kith and kin is just barbaric.

Well, what about children being sexually abused by caregivers at orphanages? Call me paranoid if you want but abusing a child who ends up in an orphanage who is traumatized as is, seems unpardonable in my book.
The madness does not stop there. Both juvenile offenders and young men enter the prison system be it Juvenile correctional centres or the prison proper it is reported that they are subject to continuous sexual abuse by older frustrated inmates.
It is also reported that many turns to drugs in prison to numb themselves to the continuous abuse that takes place. Horrendous isn’t it?
When a person is sentenced to prison as a punishment for a crime committed, what is expected is that, that person will reform in prison and return to society as a better person.
But if one is abused sexually, gets on drugs to escape the continuous abuse, can you imagine in what state he will return home?

Can we even imagine the plight of the parents of these people, to discover that their child may now have emotional problems and a drug habit to deal with after serving a prison sentence?
But do we care? Do we want to know of such horrendous stories? Or do we carry on regardless washing our hands off saying let justice takes its course. DON’T!!!!
Before we end reporting this sorry piece of news let us not forget the young girls from our villages that are lured into the city with the promise of good employment. Lo and behold these naïve young daughters end up in Spas and massage parlours that are currently mushrooming in Colombo and suburbs. This my friends are the entry point for sex work; the politically correct term for prostitution.

These young girls, who have brought up well in their meagre homes, lose their way in life owing to the shame of their ill-fate and get passed around like merchandise from one madame to another or one pimp to another.
Don’t ignore the above. It can be a relative of yours who can be the next victim. If you have the authority, check and see what happens in Spas in your area. Don’t allow these unscrupulous business owners of ill repute to prey and destroy Mother Lanka’s daughters however naïve they may be. After all, being naïve is not a crime, the last time I checked.

We salute both the State and Private institutions that have stood against the abuse of both women and children and supported victims over the years.
Do you know that there are Government helplines for victims to call in? (Ministry of Women and Child affairs)
1938 for assistance pertaining to Violence against Women
1929 for assistance regarding Child Abuse.
Let’s make it our duty to check whether these lines are up and running and whether they are user friendly.
Don’t wait for a poor victim to find out that either the lines are not working or that they are not being answered politely with empathy adding insult to injury.
It’s the responsibility of every citizen to protect another citizen who may be at risk of both Physical and Sexual abuse.

"Before we end reporting this sorry piece of news let us not forget the young girls from our villages that are lured into the city with the promise of good employment. Lo and behold these naïve young daughters end up in Spas and massage parlours that are currently mushrooming in Colombo and suburbs"

This can happen to your child tomorrow!! Don’t remain ignorant until reality hits you in the face!
Avanka Lanka Foundation is both an organization and an organism encompassing the educated public, that believes in championing social change through the upholding and propagating of INTEGRITY. The word Avanka means Integrity in Sinhala.

We want to build a network of like-minded people and organizations that are committed to stand against the Abuse of Women and Children with the primary focus of creating Public awareness and public engagement.
Our goal is to have a well-represented network of like-minded individuals and institutions engaged in this area of work in all 25 Districts, by March 2022, where every citizen in this country will know What to do, Whom to call when they or someone else they know seem to be in perceived danger as well as to Whom to go to and What assistance and recourse they have in the event of an unfortunate eventuality.

This column is an initiative by the Avanka Lanka Foundation for which we are thankful to the Daily Mirror for the space granted which is a display of the commitment of the Wijeya Group towards social responsibility. 
Many opinion leaders in this area and like-minded people have agreed to contribute to this column with the view of enriching the readers with diverse experience, expertise initiatives and interventions.
Veteran Early Childhood Expert Ms Shanthi Wijesinghe from Seekers Research will lead this initiative on and behalf of Avanka Lanka for which we are extremely grateful.

We invite all readers to be a part of this initiative and link us up with like-minded people and institutions who have been silently working against the abuse of both women and children both in Colombo and the regions, so that we will be able to build a strong network in all 25 Districts by March 2022.

Lasantha Mendis, Founder Avanka Lanka Foundation, 
Tel: 0772497739, 
www.avankalanka.org