Reflections from ICCP’25
ICCP’25, the first international child protection conference in Sri Lanka, was organised under the EU-funded JURE (Support to Justice Sector) project. Chaired by Prof. Anuruddhi Edirisinghe and coordinated by Prof. Indira Kitulwatta, the event brought together over 250 participants, including government officials, academics, and international experts. Supported by UNICEF, UNDP, and the Ministry of Justice, it received more than 375 abstract submissions and featured pre-conference workshops on ethical media reporting and multidisciplinary child abuse management. The conference marked a regional milestone in uniting government, health, and justice sectors to advance evidence-based policy and institutional reform aligned with Sri Lanka’s National Child Protection Policy and international commitments.
Child protection, or safeguarding, involves three key phases: detection, assessment, and case management. Detection determines whether an allegation meets the threshold for concern; assessment involves multidisciplinary evaluation by social services, health practitioners, and police; and case management includes care planning, placement, legal action, and review. In 2024, Sri Lanka (population 23 million; 28% under 18) recorded over 10,000 child-abuse complaints, 8% involving sexual abuse. By contrast, Australia (27 million; 21% under 18) received 307,000 notifications, and the UK (nearly 70 million) recorded around 621,000 social-care referrals. These variations reflect differences in reporting laws and data collection systems.
A multidisciplinary approach is widely regarded as most effective. Australia emphasises mandatory reporting, structured risk tools, and legal thresholds for substantiation. The UK relies on multi-agency coordination under the Children Act, using professional referrals rather than universal reporting duties. Sri Lanka is moving toward a similar integrated model through its 2023 Standard Operational Procedure (SOP) for managing child abuse and neglect in public hospitals. The SOP mandates immediate medical, psychosocial, and legal support through collaboration between Consultant Judicial Medical Officers, paediatricians, and other specialists.
Comparable systems exist in Australia’s Victorian Forensic Paediatric Medical Service (VFPMS), a 24/7 state-wide service providing forensic medical assessments, training, and data collection within tertiary hospitals. Both the Sri Lankan and Victorian models embed forensic medicine within hospital systems, ensuring expert, quality-assured care for vulnerable children while supporting judicial integrity and evidence-based practice.
Full article was published in the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jflm.2025.102951