Sri Lanka’s newly elected government said that it would call for tougher laws against child rape and abuse as figures showed only a handful of perpetrators are currently serving jail terms. The safe house has been constructed with the support of the private sector to provide proper refuge to children who face such abuses.

Minister for Child Development Rosy Senanayake pointed out that most of the perpetrators involved in child rape and abuse cases have been released due to political influence and as such the laws must be clean. She stressed that it cannot be allowed to have ministers bailing and releasing criminals for crimes as harsh as child abuse and rapes. Therefore she assured that her ministry would work closely with the Justice Ministry to introduce tougher laws against the perpetrators.