Around 4,000 Child Abuse Cases Pending in Courts, National Child Protection Authority Says

20-Oct-2026

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Approximately 4,000 child abuse cases remain pending in courts across Sri Lanka amid delays in police investigations, medical and forensic examinations, and judicial proceedings involving children, the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) has stated.

Commenting on the matter, Sajeevani Abeykoon, Director of the NCPA's Law Enforcement Division and an attorney-at-law, said the Authority received between 10,000 and 12,000 complaints annually. Complaints involving criminal conduct were referred to the police for further investigation.

Although immediate action was taken on complaints received by the Authority, a longstanding shortage of staff, together with the need for continued psychosocial support and monitoring, had resulted in some cases remaining administratively open in the database without being formally closed.

However, this did not mean that the Government had failed to take action. Action had been taken on every complaint received. The cases remained pending in the database because staff shortages had prevented their formal closure and removal from the system.

Nevertheless, the Authority had made considerable progress in clearing the backlog. Approximately 75 per cent of complaints received in 2025 and 50 per cent of those received so far in 2026 had been resolved.

Complaints requiring continued psychosocial assistance or monitoring remained open, while matters involving suspected criminal offences had been referred to the relevant law enforcement authorities, she said.