State Minister Geetha Kumarasinghe has extended her support to Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Presidential Candidate Sajith Premadasa in the 2024 Presidential Election.

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MP pledged her support by participating in MP Premadasa’s election rally held in Kandy today. 

Geetha Kumarasinghe serves as the State Minister of Women and Child Affairs under President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s government. (Newswire)

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The Cabinet has approved amending the existing Prevention of Domestic Violence Act to present a new bill to Parliament, State Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs Geetha Kumarasinghe announced.

The State Minister also revealed that plans are in progress to establish the National Commission for Women, following the introduction of the already gazetted Bill on Women’s Empowerment.

State Minister Geetha Kumarasinghe made the remarks during a press briefing held at the Presidential Media Centre on Tuesday (Apr 02). 

Speaking further, the State Minister said the Cabinet approved the Women’s Empowerment Bill in April 2023 and subsequently, the draft bill was officially published in the gazette in July 2023. 

She further said that it is scheduled to be presented in Parliament soon and that the Act includes provisions regarding the establishment of the National Commission for Women.

The Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus has also convened a discussion in Parliament recently (Mar 20), regarding the bill for women’s empowerment. Various stakeholders, such as the President’s Office, the Attorney General’s Department, and the Legal Draftsman’s Department, actively participated in the discussion.

The observations made by the World Bank regarding the Bill on Women’s Empowerment were also taken into consideration. The Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus has decided to review the observations within one week. If there are any additional amendments deemed necessary, the Bill will be re-published in the gazette and presented to Parliament, she said.

State Minister Kumarasinghe pointed out that additionally, several crucial clauses have been added, such as the provision for a close associate to file a case on behalf of women facing domestic violence. The Cabinet of Ministers has also approved to amend the existing Prevention of Domestic Violence Act and present it to Parliament as a new Act.

Temporary detention centres for abused women have been established in Gampaha, Ratnapura, Colombo, Matara, Batticaloa, Anuradhapura, Monaragala, and Nuwara Eliya districts, she said.

State Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs also revealed that the Bill on Gender Equality has received Cabinet approval and will now be forwarded to the government printing press for gazetting. 

She added that the Cabinet has also approved the national guidelines for the management of women’s care homes dedicated to victims of sexual and gender-based violence. (NewsWire)

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The Ministry of Women and Child Affairs has taken necessary action with regard to the recent reports of Sri Lankan children being trafficked overseas, State Minister of Women and Child Affairs Geetha Kumarasinghe said today. 

Addressing the Parliament, State Minister Geetha Kumarasinghe said that it has been found that 13 children have been trafficked to Malaysia to be sold to European countries. 

She further said that instructions have been issued to the Department of Immigration and Emigration and the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) to immediately conduct an investigation into the matter.

The Ministry’s involvement comes after the Police recently revealed that 13 children have been trafficked to the UK and France via Malaysia.

A complaint on child trafficking had been filed at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) by the Controller General of the Department of Immigration and Emigration. 

Investigations by the CID found that children of Tamil origin below the age of 18 years from the North-Western Province had been trafficked to Malaysia.

It was further found that the children were taken to Malaysia via official passports and from there they were sent to the UK and France using forged passports.

The CID investigations have found that a total of 13 children have already been trafficked to Malaysia as of now, while information has also come to light on the involvement of a broker operating the racket. (NewsWire)

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A total of 168 female children below the age of 16 years have been sexually abused within a period of one month, State Minister of Women and Child Affairs Geetha Kumarasinghe revealed.

Addressing the media on Wednesday (Oct 25), she said the sexual abuse had been reported between 01 – 30 September 2023. 

State Minister Geetha Kumarasinghe further said that 22 children among the victims are reported to be pregnant.

“Reporting sexual abuse of nearly 168 children within a month shows that our country is in an unfortunate situation. All Police Stations were requested to take stringent measures in cases of child abuse to ensure the safety of children. Principals of schools were also requested to take measures to protect children from child abuse,” she said. 

The State Minister pointed out that in most of these incidents, the children have been found to be sexually abused by a close relative or someone in their own house.

State Minister Geetha Kumarasinghe emphasized the need to implement stringent laws to protect children from child abuse. (NewsWire)

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