• Opposition pledges unconditional support
• Over 100,000 child abuse complaints
• NCPA to get independent Police Probe Unit

The Government is set to push for the constitutional recognition of the rights of women and children by incorporating them into the Fundamental Rights (FR) Chapter of the Constitution, with the Opposition pledging its unconditional support for the move.

Responding to a proposal made by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa in Parliament yesterday (23), subject Minister Saroja Savithri Paulraj said: “We are prepared to work with the Justice Ministry to include the rights of women and children in the FR Chapter. We are also obtaining the views and proposals of all the relevant stakeholders to further strengthen the work of the Ministry because this is not merely the responsibility of one Ministry, but a national responsibility.” Earlier, Premadasa said that the Opposition would fully back an initiative to include the rights of women and children in the FR Chapter. “We are prepared to extend our unconditional support to this if the Ministry is prepared to go ahead with it,” he said.In response to a question raised by Premadasa, she revealed that the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) had received a total of 108,581 complaints between 2015 and last year (2025).

She further said that as of 30 April of this year (2026), there were 4,421 child abuse cases pending before High Courts (HCs) across the country, and that indictments had already been filed in all of those cases. To expedite the conclusion of these cases, she said that the NCPA has established a database in coordination with the Police Bureau for the Investigation of the Abuse of Children and Women.

As part of efforts to better protect victims of child abuse incidents, Paulraj said that children are no longer required to appear in court to give evidence in cases. Instead, she said that their testimony is recorded as video evidence in a safe environment, free from intimidation or external influence, before being submitted to court. She added that two video evidence recording units are currently in operation at the NCPA Headquarters and the Ragama Child Protection Centre. “A third unit has already been established at the Galle National Hospital premises in Karapitiya and will become operational once the required technical systems are installed. The video evidence unit in Anuradhapura is in its final stage of establishment. Discussions are also underway with the Health and Mass Media Ministry and other relevant stakeholders to identify suitable hospital premises for the establishment of nine Provincial-level video evidence recording units.”

She further said that amendments have been proposed to the NCPA Act, No. 50 of 1998, with Cabinet of Ministers approval, to establish an independent Special Police Investigation Unit operating under the direction of the NCPA Chairperson. In addition, she revealed that the Ministry has requested the Inspector General of Police, through a letter dated 23 June, to formally attach the existing Police Investigation Unit currently functioning within the NCPA premises to the Authority itself.

Meanwhile, the NCPA revealed that it received 5,523 complaints involving children during the first six months of 2026, including cases of child abuse. The complaints received between 1 January and 30 June include: 1,100 complaints of child cruelty, 60 complaints of aggravated sexual abuse, 213 complaints of sexual harassment, 99 complaints of the unlawful abduction of children, 100 complaints related to the commercial sexual exploitation of children, 82 complaints of child labour, 40 complaints of teenage pregnancies, five complaints of child marriages, 112 complaints of cyber violence against children, and 13 complaints involving attempted suicide by children. The NCPA said that these figures highlight the continuing need to strengthen child protection mechanisms and ensure timely legal action against offenders.