Sri Lanka, together with EU and UNICEF, launch a model service for child victims of violence

Kandy, Sri Lanka | September 17, 2025 – The Ministry of Justice and National Integration and the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs, with support from the European Union through UNICEF, today launched a groundbreaking initiative to support children who have experienced violence. The new model service will ensure fast, child-sensitive support to child victims of violence; from the point when the case is reported to police, helplines or others, until the child is linked with sustained care and protection mechanisms.

The model service, launched in Kandy, includes six flagship initiatives of local and national scale to introduce transformative changes in the child protection and justice system. These improvements include enhancing the 1929 Helpline, introducing integrated case management, enhancing support services for children, improving efficiency of justice processes, enhancing practices for taking evidence from children, and introducing child-friendly courts with child witness rooms. The operationalisation of the model service for child victims of violence is supported by the European Union under the Support to Justice Sector Project (JURE).

The launch is an important step towards realizing national and international policy commitments as enshrined in the National Policy Framework of Sri Lanka and as part of the commitments made by Sri Lanka’s at the 2024 Bogotá Conference on Ending Violence Against Children.

Such an approach to service delivery for child victims ensures that all institutions and professionals working with children reform their services to protect children’s rights, dignity and wellbeing and to ensure speedy and quality support. The model service for child victims of violence introduces a set of changes, including digital innovations, that are guided by international best practices and are responsive to the well-known issues of efficiency and quality of services for children in Sri Lanka.

One of the first digital innovations is introduced in the Kandy High Court. New child-friendly court facilities, refurbished in an age-appropriate way and equipped with modern audio-visual technology, enable children to testify from a separate room within the court premises, operationalizing the recent amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure (June 2025). This protects a child witness from direct confrontation with perpetrators, minimizing trauma.

Hon. Minister of Justice and National Integration, Harshana Nanayakkara speaking on this milestone moment said, “This is a turning point for Sri Lanka’s justice system. These services will ensure that children will have a voice in court without fear, protected by law, supported by technology, and treated with dignity. This is an important step towards specializing high courts for children”

“By launching this new continuum of services, we are marking the beginning of a new way of protecting child victims of violence in Sri Lanka. By taking a coordinated, multi-sectoral approach, we aim to ensure that children receive quality justice and at the same time are able to access protection and welfare services – all delivered in a child-sensitive manner,” said Hon. Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs, Saroja Paulraj, emphasizing the importance of putting children at the heart of reforms.

While acknowledging Sri Lanka’s progress, H.E. Carmen Moreno, EU Ambassador to Sri Lanka, highlights the role of the JURE project: “Violence against children remains a serious concern and demands immediate action.  The European Union and UNICEF partnership, through the JURE project has been instrumental in translating the Government of Sri Lanka’s commitment to end violence against children into actions.  Today sets in motion a model of child-friendly services that will assist and support children victims of violence and bring them justice”.

Reinforcing this collective achievement, UNICEF Representative in Sri Lanka, Emma Brigham said, “Today, Sri Lanka is turning its global commitments into a tangible change for children. A holistic, coordinated, and child-centered system - one that integrates both protection and justice, ensures that children are safeguarded and supported to restore their lives. We welcome this transformative approach and look forward to seeing the roll-out of such services across the country.”

Together, the Government of Sri Lanka, European Union and UNICEF are ensuring that every child’s right to protection is fulfilled.

JURE, supported by the European Union, is jointly implemented by UNICEF and UNDP facilitated by the Ministry of Justice. It aims to strengthen the justice system to be more accessible, efficient, and inclusive. UNICEF leads efforts to enhance child-friendly justice and child protection processes, ensuring better protection and support for children within the legal system.

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