Sociological Inquiry into Child Abuse and the Social Worker’s Intervention in Its Mitigation - ළමා අපයෝජනය හා එය අවම කිරීමෙහි ලා සමාජ වැඩකරුගේ මැදිහත්වීම පිළිබඳ සමාජ විද්‍යාත්මක විමසුමක්

In today’s complex society, social issues are emerging rapidly, significantly impacting the social fabric. One such critical and fast-escalating social problem is child abuse. A child is simply defined as any individual under the age of 18. Child abuse refers to any act by another individual—whether an adult or another child—that causes significant harm to a child.
This research, titled "Child Abuse and the Social Worker’s Intervention in Its Mitigation," explores how social workers in Sri Lanka can actively contribute to reducing child abuse. The primary objective is to study the possible roles and interventions social workers can undertake to mitigate child abuse. This study utilizes secondary data, focusing on reports of child abuse in Sri Lanka over the past five years—namely 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.
The discussion is grounded on how social workers can intervene in both the prevention and reduction of child abuse, primarily using data obtained from the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) of Sri Lanka. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses are conducted using sociological research methods and SPSS software. The study ultimately highlights the effectiveness of institutional child protection systems in Sri Lanka and the potential of social worker interventions in preventing child abuse.