SRI LANKA: Child abuse cases stalled

Photo: Contributor/IRIN

Thousands of cases of child abuse are stalled in Sri Lanka’s courts

COLOMBO, 24 September 2012 (IRIN) - In Sri Lanka it is taking as long as six years to prosecute criminals who abuse children, a delay that threatens to further traumatize thousands of children whose cases are stuck in the courts, according to experts. 

Officials from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Sri Lanka told IRIN as many as 4,000 child abuse cases are before the country’s 34 high courts (the second highest level of courts). 

The average wait time for a ruling is six years based on a 2010 UNICEF analysis of backlogged cases, and can go up to eight years, according to local NGOs. 

Delays include police taking a long time to complete investigations or sending incomplete files, bottlenecks in the attorney-general’s office in clearing cases to proceed to hearings, and an overload of all types of cases before the courts, said UNICEF spokeswoman Suzanne Davey. 

As of late 2010, there were over 650,000 cases of all types being heard in Sri Lankan courts, according to the Ministry of Justice. That same year the government launched a US$3 million project to set up 60 new courts to help clear the backlog. 
Delays victimize                           full report