ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM
25 October 2002
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UA-51-2002: A 13-year-old girl was raped by her father
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Sandamalee (13), a student of year 8 was raped by her father (37) on 2nd
September 2002. She revealed her story when her mother (34) saw her husband
raping her daughter with her own eyes on the night of 26th September 2002.
Sandamalee had been raped by her father more than 6 times since 2nd September
2002.
The mother of the victim reported this to the police on the 27th September
2002, the day after she saw this horrible scene. The father of the victim was
arrested on 2nd October 2002 by the Kandy police and handed to the Manikhinna
police.
The father of the victim was further remanded when he was produced in courts
on 11th October 2002. He is a vendor living with his wife, the daughter and
the son of eleven years. They were living in Pallekele, Kandy for last three
years.
When the father first raped the victim on 2nd September, the victim's mother
was in Colombo participating in the Janabala Meheuma (a demonstration held in
Colombo to support peace initiatives by the present government). The father
of the victim sent his son to the nearby boutique and raped the victim around
8:00 p.m.
The victim was threatened with a knife by her father before being raped. The
13-year-old knew about her father, how dangerous he could be, since he used
beat and torture her mother after getting drunk.
The victim is a student of a college nearby Kandy and she wishes to continue
her studies. According to the mother, the young girl still screams even
during the daytime when she remembers this horrible experience. She was
admitted to Kandy hospital for a medical examination and stayed there for
four days.
Fearing that the father would attempt to kill the victim and her mother, the
mother removed the victim from her school the day before her father was
arrested. The mother of the victim reported this incident to a human rights
group, which has begun to prepare a shelter for the victim to stay and
continue her studies.
However, the victim and her mother fear for their security. The fear is that
the father will try to harm the daughter and mother. Child rights and child
protection are not much talked about in Sri Lanka, therefore, the state has
no programmes to help such victims and provide them counseling and other
protection.
There is also a fear that proper investigation may not take place. The human
rights group helping the family wants the state to take greater
responsibility for the young girl and her family, and provide protection and
help them to seek justice.
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