The Hon. (Dr.) Hiniduma Sunil Senevi - Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, as Government Members have shown, the amendments brought today by Hon. Saroja Savitri Paulraj are very important — a progressive approach to existing law about children and their destinies. The adult we produce is shaped decisively by the wounds — both physical and of the heart — suffered in childhood.

¶ 02 I will focus not on legal drafting, but on the culture of punishment, the ideology behind it, and its psychological nature, tying this to ongoing education reforms. Child-directed punishments appear in four spheres: - At home by parents/elders - In schools by teachers - In hostels, detention homes and child care institutions by wardens - By student leaders/prefects who are given disciplinary roles that sometimes extend into punitive actions, even in universities

¶ 03 Education reforms now emphasize human capital — teachers and students. Both need to re-learn approaches to discipline. Teachers must be trained to think anew about punishment; students must also be engaged in proportionate, constructive roles.

¶ 04 On “wounds of the heart,” art has long explored this sensitive terrain. In Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane (1941), the dying word “Rosebud” recalls a childhood trauma — the beloved snow sled torn away when the boy was forced from home — a hidden wound shaping a lifetime. Such injuries are not visible within legalistic debates about breadth or bona fides; they remain concealed yet profound.

¶ 05 In Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves (1948), public humiliation of the father before the child cycles back as a punishment upon the child’s psyche. These are not cane marks; they are lasting psychological imprints. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) also explores how early violence can seed later monstrosity. A society steeped in punitive culture paves roads towards later social violence, addiction and criminality.

¶ 06 Language limits law: inserting “good faith” still leaves interpretation to courts. Note also that yesterday was International Day of Sign Languages. Consider the cruelty when children with disabilities — deaf, hard of hearing, etc. — face punishment and cannot even express their pain; the clinical consequences can be grave and long-term.

¶ 07 A country’s civility is measured by how it treats its women and its children. Films often say “adults only,” never “children only.” The true test is whether we, by law and by authentic will, protect the child’s world. I support this Bill’s purpose to move us toward a more humane society.