Page 22 - KDU INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

KDU International Journal of Criminal Justice (KDUIJCJ)
Volume I | Issue II| July 2024

duty in taking appropriate measures in providing of necessary assistance
to victims of crime and witnesses including appropriate measures of

treatment, reparation, restitution, rehabilitation and protection.

There are no reliable statistics revealing the exact number of women and
child victims who seek the protection afforded to them of the Criminal

Justice System in Sri Lanka. However, there is vast number considering

the calls received on the different women and children’s helplines in
operation. Therefore, there is a dire need to train young lawyers to

function as Pro Bono Lawyers who will network with Public officers

attached to the Divisional Secretariats and District Secretariats such as
the Psycho Social Officer, Child Protection Officer, Probation Officer,

Woman development Officer, Migrant Officer and officers attached to the
Ministry of Health and collaborate to make the human right to access to

justice and the right to a life of dignity a reality.

The said officers should establish links with law enforcement officials,

Medical Officers attached to the local hospitals, with psychiatrists and

Counsellors and retired School Teachers and Principals so that they can
provide support and assistance to victims in keeping with community

values. The second story revolves around a child trafficking victim. Geeta
was in her teens when she was removed from her Hill Country school

where she was a bright and diligent student and brought to Colombo as a

housemaid. She had been handed over to an Employment Agent by her
father and she had worked in a number of houses in Colombo by the time

she encountered the author 2020. She had been a victim of sexual

harassment and had been subjected to cruelty in almost every household.
The Agent would concoct a story and collect cash from new employers

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