Sexual Child Abuse in Sri Lanka; A Comparative Factor Identification on Child and Child Abuse Perpetrators’ Social Background

Abstract

According to the NCPA Report, there were 9673 in 2023 reported child abuse cases. The objective of this paper is to discuss the biopsychosocial consequences of child abuse and suggest the basic components of social support network programs to mitigate child abuse in Sri Lanka. This research is a comparative, descriptive study of child abuse in Sri Lanka. The study focused on analyzing related background factors of both sides of child and child abuse perpetrators. The research problem was to explore the risk factors and root factors that influence child abuse from both sides’ children and the perpetrators. The research was conducted with secondary and primary data. Background factors related to the abused child were revealed through randomly selected scholarly research articles. Perpetrators’ background was analyzed with primary data which was collected from semi-structured interviews of ten cases convicted for child abuse in the prison. The social background of child abuse is highly related to reasons such as lower educational levels of both child and the parents, low awareness of sexuality and child rights related to sexual and other types of abuse, insecurity family situation with poverty, drunken fathers, parents’ marriage mismatches and casual marriage relationships, and cultural acceptances and customs. Biopsychosocial symptoms of sexual child abuse can be identified from rape to death with kissing, touching of genital areas and organs, oral sex, showing and taking pictures of sexual images, and habitual sexual intercourse at home with close relatives. Most common child abuse perpetrators are biological fathers, stepfathers, school teachers, close relatives such as sisters’ husbands or uncles, father’s friends or close Nabors. Most perpetrators had negative childhood experiences, low education levels, low parental care, illicit drug use, and excessive sexual desire. Social support networks for mitigating child abuse should be focused on addressing risk factors including family, child, youth, and reputation of all groups and interference of government and volunteer agencies.