Sri Lanka’s relationship with sexual education is complicated, to say the least. Our culture pooh-poohs all talk of sex in the name of protecting our children, but in doing so, we create a lack of information and discourse, and eventually, often leave our children vulnerable to abuse.
A letter was recently submitted to the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA), addressed to its Chairman Muditha Vidanapathirana, on the findings of the Hathe Ape Potha Survey, highlighting the importance of comprehensive sexual education for adolescents, with a majority of the participants confirming that there is indeed a need for such education to be implemented in the school curriculum.
The survey was carried out and submitted by human rights activist Kaushal Ranasinghe, while the letter was co-signed by Youth For Tomorrow Sri Lanka (YFTSL) Chairman Iroshan Halgamuwa and Stop Child Cruelty Trust Founder Chairperson Dr. Tush Wickramanayaka. The survey was presented to the Parliament-appointed Subcommittee on Gender Issues (SGI) in January last year as well.
The “Hathe Ape Potha” was a proposed development to be added to the school curriculum to provide sexual education for adolescents. It educates the child on reproductive health, adolescent-related problems, sexually transmitted diseases, menstrual cycles, personal hygiene, adolescence issues, human sexuality, sexual challenges, parental responsibilities, sexual behaviours, and related laws. The book aims to teach these issues that cannot be talked about openly due to the child’s cultural connection with teachers and parents.
Speaking to Dr. Wickramanayaka, she shared that the distribution of the book was halted due to certain Opposition parties at the time concluding that there was a need for some minor amendments. However, once the government changed, all was forgotten and things remained halted.
Preventing child cruelty
Dr. Wickramanayaka shared that there are four distinct areas with regard to cruelty towards children – physical, sexual, mental, and neglect. She shared that the primary concern in Sri Lanka and around the world is physical abuse, much on the lines of corporal punishment. She said “the criminal charge is cruelty, but in the end, it is all synonymous with each other”, meaning it is harm done, regardless of how it happens.
She also shared that the Stop Child Cruelty Trust recently launched #JustANumber Child Protection Month to increase awareness on the fundamental rights of children through various programmes, the key objective of which was to compel Parliament to change the Penal Code section which covered cruelty to children, especially following the Supreme Court’s recognition of corporal punishment of children by schools as unlawful and a violation of child rights.
In furthering this agenda, she said that the Stop Child Cruelty Trust joined forces with a number of similarly aligned civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations to form Sri Lanka’s first-ever child protection alliance.
She stated that, as an alliance, they are looking to push forward their focus on creating awareness and education for children, so that they may be empowered to protect themselves, to seek out protection, and to be unafraid as they navigate their youth.
Sexual education for adolescents
On 3 October 2021, in a virtual discussion conducted as part of the #JustANumber Child Protection Month, on the topic of “Child Protection Progress”, the matter of sexual education for adolescents was discussed. NCPA Chairman Vidanapathirana was in attendance, together with former Human Rights Commissioner of Sri Lanka Prof. Prathibha Mahanama.
When a question was raised with regard to the school curriculum that only covers reproductive health, in response to this, Prof. Mahanama spoke of the recommendations made by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which includes matters regarding sexual exploitation, and addressed the fact that comprehensive sexual education is a necessity.
Speaking with Dr. Wickramanayaka regarding this matter, she too shared that the previously mentioned “Hathe Ape Potha” was, in fact, created with all these recommendations in mind. She shared that the reason why sexual education is so important is because, as it stands now, our education system is failing our children, as they are falling prey to abusers. She shared that in 2019, the Sri Lanka Police confirmed that a child is molested every two hours in this country and there were seven reported cases of children being physically and sexually abused to death.
With reference to the information made public by Crime and Organised Crime Division Director Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Priyantha Jayakody, Prof. Mahanama said that 5,292 child abuse cases and 1,642 rape cases were recorded as police complaints, warning also thatthe actual number could be higher, as many abuses go unreported. “It is an unparalleled tragedy. In a country of peace, no child should die of such trauma,” he said.
Dr. Wickramanayaka added that comprehensive sexual education will be a key intervention to prevent not only child sexual abuse, but also intimate partner violence and sexual violence, as well as to prevent unwanted pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Furthermore, in reference to this matter of education and why it is important, Prof. Mahanama too added that it can be confirmed that the most common perpetrators of abuse are, more often than not, someone close to the family or someone from the immediate family, which is why it is even more important for your children to be aware of body safety. Parents must also be extremely vigilant and have a very strong bond with their child, so that their child can open up to them. However, this too can be better aided with proper education, which creates an environment where it is okay to talk about these topics comfortably.
Brunch reached out to NCPA Chairman Vidanapathirana for further insights on the matter, but he refused to comment, stating only that the NCPA is dedicated to protecting children and they will continue to further their mandate.
Remaining culturally appropriate
Speaking to Prof. Mahanama with regard to this matter of comprehensive sexual education and why it was taking so long to take hold in the Lankan education system, he said that, as we all are well aware now, it is owing to our cultural and social belief systems. However, he said that in order to implement these educational changes, we do not need to change our cultural beliefs.
“Sri Lanka is a different country to the US, Australia, Canada, or similar; we cannot compare with these countries. What needs to be done is to create awareness amongst children so that they may recognise a problematic situation when it is presented to them and they can tackle it accordingly,” he explained.
He also shared that there should be a systematic approach adopted when it comes to implementing these new ideologies. Referring to the “Hathe Ape Potha”, which was a product of the National Education Commission (NEC), he shared that such curricula may be the global standard, but before we jump right in, we must build from the bottom up, which means we must first have training for the trainers – that is the teachers who will have to teach the children this information.
“Culturally, we are not comfortable with these topics, yet we are all aware that they are important and must be included in open conversations. Yet, we cannot expect all to jump right in; it must be done gradually,” he said.
Prof. Mahanama also addressed the fact that by expanding these parameters of sexual education, we may also be able to prevent the alarming number of unwanted pregnancies, illegal abortions, and even the number of deaths by suicide where young people suffer as a result of a lack of awareness and knowledge.
He said that we mustn’t ignore the data. Noting that in 2020, Sri Lanka has more searches for “sex” than any other country (except Ethiopia, before which Sri Lanka topped the list in a number of years consecutively), he said that there are deep-seated concerns in these statistics which many are brushing off as humorous. He shared that whether you talk about it or not, bad things will continue to happen and the only result we stand to gain from shunning open discourse is making things more difficult for victims to seek help and potentially perpetuating the continuation of these actions in the shadows.
If you or someone you know has been abused or is dealing with similar issues, please reach out for help through the following hotlines:
Police Child and Women Bureau: 0112 444 444
NCPA: 1929
LEADS: 0114 954 111
