Civil society organisations have denounced a proposed amendment to Sri Lanka’s Penal Code which will see a reduction in the age of consent from 16 years to 14 years of age, stating that the amendment must be withdrawn immediately.

The letter, signed by 150 individuals and 55 civil society organisations states that child abuse is rife in Sri Lanka, and it is reprehensible that this Bill is being presented as an amendment to the Penal Code.

“We do not know how this policy was formulated, and it ignores current realities in Sri Lanka on the high incidence of sexual abuse of minor children including girls, and the abysmal failures in law enforcement,” said the letter.

“This has created a culture of impunity and even legitimacy for child sexual abuse. The age threshold of 16 years for sexual consent by a minor, was accepted in the 1995 amendments because it conforms with an age at which a minor under 18 years acquires capacity for other acts such as release from parental custody, capacity to give consent to medical treatment, and now, to be legally employed. This age has been considered relevant in legal and medical scholarship. 16 years as an appropriate age for sex with consent has been recognised globally including in many countries in Africa and Asia.”

According to the National Child Protection Authority, during the whole of last year, nearly 700 cases of child abuse and related complaints were investigated in the North-East alone.  A recent case that saw massive protests was the rape and murder of 10-year-old Yasi Warnakulasuriya who was raped and murdered, 300 meters away from her home in Urmanani in Mannar. 

“It is reprehensible that this Bill is being presented as an amendment to the Penal Code at this time when the challenge is to strengthen enforcement of the existing law and protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation, “continued the letter.

“The manner in which impunity for such abuse is being encouraged by lowering the age of consent of girls to 14 years, and then providing for suspended sentences for male perpetrators under 22, clearly points to a growing practice of ad hoc policy formulation according to agendas. What we need is coherent consistent law and policy reform that can address and impact usefully and resolve problems relating to violence against women and girls.”

The statement pointed out that this bill contradicts the national policy of protecting the human rights of women and girls through the much-publicized proposed Gender Empowerment Bill and the National Policy on Women.

Read the full letter here.