The Child Protection Force: Supporting children to navigate the legal quagmire

Milani Salpitikorala (seated left) with the CPF team

Atrocities committed against women and children are a mainstay in the news and society is gradually becoming numb to such reports. The civil society must get involved to become aware, mitigate, observe and report incidents of violence and abuse perpetrated against the innocent. Several organizations are rendering a yeoman service in this regard and today we highlight the Child Protection Force (CPF), a well reputed civil society organization. The CPF is a brainchild of Attorney-at-Law Milani Salpitikorala, who has a vision to create a Safe Sri Lanka for children. The organization’s website states “the lack of a strong body for the protection of children trapped in the legal system inspired the name ‘Child Protection Force’. 

The CPF consists of members and employees with a passion for Child Rights Law, who work tirelessly towards a change in the entire system for Child Protection in Sri Lanka.”
The CPF’s mandate is to support the State’s efforts to protect, prevent, rehabilitate and reintegrate vulnerable children involved in the worst forms of child exploitation, abuse and neglect. While representing and assisting those who would otherwise not have any help in the legal system, the CPF provides Legal Assistance and follow up Legal Aid and Mental Health Assistance to child survivors and children who have been accused of offence and any child in contact with the law; requiring care and protection.

Salpitikorala is a mother of two young children. She was raised in a single parent family after the demise of her mother at an early age. Her father, the Late Mahinda Salpitikorala, a Lawyer by profession, set the bar for her in how to deal with the less privileged, troubled clients who came to seek his assistance and inspired her to consider Law as a career choice. Before his untimely passing, he connected her to Justice Shiranee Thilakawardane (who was a Judge of the Supreme Court at that time) where she worked as a Legal Researcher. 

"The CPF is a brainchild of Attorney-at-Law Milani Salpitikorala, who has a vision to create a Safe Sri Lanka for childrent"

Justice Thilakawardane has played a pivotal role in Ms. Sapitikorala’s life, giving her an all-round, all-encompassing training in the legal profession. Her work entailed connecting with many professionals who are experts on Child Protection Law. Notable among them are the Late Sajeeva Samaranayake, Attorney-at-Law who taught her the importance of holistic child development and Harshana Nanayakkara, Attorney-at-Law, whose advice- “Milani it’s amazing that you have taken on Child Protection, but my dear, please don’t lose your mojo” she fondly recalls. Salpitikorala was motivated to consider Child Protection Law as her main focus while working on a project with Samaranayake where she realised there was much to be done in the Justice System pertaining to child needs. 

Initially she started writing proposals and presenting same to many policy makers and larger NGO’s and finally under aegis of the Child Protection Force (Guarantee Limited)-incorporated in March 2017, she launched the “To Expedite and Educate Project” that envisions having a wide ranging positive impact on society through the parameters set in the project. 
CPF started off as a legal aid service for child victims of crimes, children in need of care and protection, children accused of offenses or any child who is in need of legal assistance and represents these children in Court, at law enforcement offices and any State organizations. 

CPF now provides essential mental health assistance and psycho-social support to all their clients, (the victims as well as their families and caregivers) helping to find solutions to the aftermath caused by crimes perpetrated against the children and to help them navigate the legal system. It is mandatory for all clients to attend mental health assistance sessions with the CPF in-house Clinical Psychologist or the CPF Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner or the CPF Life Coach. 

In collaboration with civil society organizations such as Emerge Global, Grassrooted Trust, Sambol Foundation and Care Station, CPF also conducts awareness programmes and workshops geared towards the prevention of Crimes against Children.

• Workshops are conducted for the grassroots level officers such as Probation Officers and officers within the Provincial, District and Divisional Secretariats to empower and educate these officials to be more self-aware, enabling them to be a more efficient agent of change especially with regards to child protection and preventive mechanisms.
• Regular workshops are conducted for Officers of the Police Women and Children’s Bureau Desk on reforms to the laws and systems, guidelines and regulations as well as meditation and mindfulness practice.
• Regular workshops are conducted for schoolchildren on body safety, cyber safety and their rights as well as mindfulness practice.
• The CPF initiated engagement with lawmakers and the media to highlight the challenges and promote real-world solutions which will help children.
• The CPF conducts research on child drug abuse and exploitation; and has engagement with the authorities on how to better deal with it.

Additionally the CPF launched the #childforcetrooper project in the Puttalam district in March 2020. Salpitikorala said, “Through the #childforcetrooper we hope to create community based committees that will create their own safety network for children. We have successfully completed this program in collaboration with the Good Shepherd congregation in Puttalam. The community members created their own Committee. We educated them on basic laws, rights, available state departments and civil society organizations related to Child Protection. By empowering the adults in the community and assisting them with knowledge related to child protection; communities will be able to ensure the protection of the children within the community or village and even enable them to act as first responders until law enforcement takes over. They will also identify named perpetrators, thereby ensuring that the community will keep the children safe.”

"The CPF’s mandate is to support the State’s efforts to protect, prevent, rehabilitate and reintegrate vulnerable children involved in the worst forms of child exploitation, abuse and neglec"

Salpitikorala stated that the CPF is a non-profit organization and the #childforcetrooper project methodology of engaging the community is easily replicated as the only intention is to create a safe Sri Lanka for our children.
Commenting on frequent types of abuse of children she observed that the larger percentage of cases is grave sexual abuse, both of girl and boy children. The CPF has also received a multitude of cases where young children are brought in for mental health assistance due to excess device usage, caused by these children being exposed to unsafe data and content. We also received cases related to cyber harassment, revenge porn and cyber exploitation.
Additionally, the CPF has observed first-hand that there is a massive increase in both cases of child abuse and domestic violence cases since the lockdown started.

Conducting a training program for Police officers

Focus on prevention 

Salpitikorala gave examples of CPF success stories. “The first case we received is of a young boy, a victim of anal rape by his step-father. The family was distraught and the mother suicidal. Going beyond the mandate of being a mere legal service we supported them as lawyers, as advisors and mostly as a shoulder to lean on. As we continued working with them, we realised each of their needs. The boys learned boxing at “Combat by Jesh”. Even though the legal proceedings will drag for a long time the family is healing now. The perpetrator is in jail and this single mother and her three boys are living a life with a sense of normalcy. Our only hope is that the boys will study hard and become responsible adults.

Another is the case of a boy who was subject to grave sexual abuse since he was 3 years old and cyber sexual abuse at 15years. The case is on-going. Regardless of these terrible circumstances the boy has transformed into an amazing hard working 21 year-old young man; and through the reintegration programme CPF assisted him and he is now working full-time in a civil society organization and aspires to become a lawyer.

Currently, the website states that the CPF is assisting a mother and two children get a Protection Order through the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act. CPF has provided them safe accommodation with the assistance of an organization named “Nama Sanctuary Foundation”, while they go through their healing process and are able to reintegrate society with a sense of normalcy. The CPF is also representing a 10-year-old daughter of a single mother. The child is a rape victim and was further abused by being used as a third person in a threesome for over a year by two perpetrators in the day care centre she was placed in while her mother was at work. The CPF represented in court, a 15 year old boy raped by his step-father.  Additionally the CPF is currently representing a 10-year-old girl who was continuously raped for over 2 years by her mother’s boyfriend.

The main focus for 2022 is on prevention and the CPF is hoping to conduct a multitude of educative preventive workshops during the year. Hoping to expand their services beyond the Western Province the CPF plans to open small branch offices in Matara, Kurunegala and Nuwara Eliya.
You could get in touch with CPF via the following;  

Address: No. 599/1/A/1, Akuregoda Road, Pelawatte. 
Web :www.childprotection.org    www.facebook.com/childprotectionforce/
https://instagram.com/childprotectionforce.sl?utm_medium=copy_link

Tel : +94 (0) 114 848 856         
Mobile (Milani) - +94 (0) 777 388 212 
(Wasana)  - +94 (0) 769 477 880     
(Prathibha) - +94 (0) 717 740 025 
E mail: [email protected] 
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We invite all Activists, Civil Society Organizations, Lawyers and concerned citizens to come forward and join us to set up a network to stand against the Violence on Women and Children in your own District.
Together we Can ! Sri Lanka Can!
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Tel; 94772497739   Email avankalanka.org