The Systemic Failure to Protect Sri Lanka’s Children
Thirty years after ratifying the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNRC) in 1991, child protection is a national crisis in Sri Lanka. Over the past 16 months, 10…
Youth
Boys Cry Too
Boys are often under represented or even ignored in the fight against child sexual exploitation due to the stereotyping of gender traits with males being considered strong and invulnerable and less likely…
The Growing Dangers of Online Sexual Exploitation of Children
It was a horrifying and sickening case. A 15 year old child was groomed online and sexually abused by dozens of men including a local government politician, a Buddhist monk, a Navy…
Protecting Every Child in Sri Lanka
On November 20 every year, the world celebrates World Children’s Day; it is the same day on which the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) was established, leading the…
Living on the Edge: Children of Cemetery Dwellers
Their playground is a graveyard; their toys are sticks and stones. They run in the sand and dirt, flying kites and joking, fighting and laughing. They are Tamil children living on the…
Being Young in Times of COVID-19
Young people from the ages of 16 to 35 around the world have been particularly hard hit by the effects of COVID-19. Discussions and forums targeting the wellbeing and development of youth…
Protecting Children is Everyone’s Responsibility
The Covid-19 pandemic that has been impacting Sri Lanka for the past one and a half years has had wide ranging economic and social repercussions for people from all walks of life…
Child Trafficking: Responding to a Complex Phenomenon
The recent incidents of sexual and economic exploitation of children have sparked many protests and a public outcry targeting the failure of the State to ensure justice to children and their families.…
Courageous Young Peace Activist Strives to Inspire Change
During her relatively short life, Britain’s Princess Diana was able to overcome many trials and tribulations and dedicate her time to helping others live better lives. Her many causes included a fight…
Hidden and Discounted: Child Labour in Tea and Tourism
In the South Asian region, Sri Lanka is a success story when it comes to tackling child labour. The widely prevalent forms of child labour in the 1990s and before, such as…
Bridging the Generational Divide to Prevent Future Conflict
The youth of a country are the forerunners of social progress; notwithstanding this historical fact, we cannot underestimate the role other social strata play in the social development of a nation. Youth…
Protecting and Nurturing Children in a Hazardous World
World Children’s Day was first established in 1954 as Universal Children’s Day and is celebrated on November 20 each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children’s welfare.…
Stemming the Tide of Child Sexual Abuse
World Children’s Day falls on November 20. Sri Lanka commemorated Children’s Day on October 1 and September 2 marked 30 years since the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child…
Youth Rights and Liberty in Sri Lanka
According to the latest estimates by the United Nations, in 2019, 1.2 billion of the world’s population were between the ages of 15 and 24. That is one in every six people!…
PODCAST: Conversation with Ambika Satkunanathan on police brutality in Sri Lanka
Image courtesy by Human Rights Watch. The murder of George Floyd in the United States has in the past week resulted in a renewed focus on Police violence, torture, brutality and impunity.…
