When a Child Survivor Speaks Up in Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, child sexual abuse affects up to 44% of children [1]. Most never speak up. For those who do, their courage often leads to years in institutional care - trading one form of trauma for another.

This is the price of breaking the silence. A childhood behind closed doors... A world that shrinks to institutional walls. Loss of interaction with the outside world.

It can mean years of childhood experiences stolen, of connections left unmade, of hope gradually fading.

Growing up becomes not a journey of discovery, but a struggle to find belonging, to learn skills that should have been gentle teachings, to rebuild what was never allowed to grow naturally.

And so, the child who courageously took a stand is left unprepared and unsupported for adulthood.

Emerge Changes the Story

Through Emerge, we can change this.

Together, we can enable girls to heal and to see their worth...

To develop skills for their future and dream about who they want to become...

To learn to navigate the world and to discover their power.

Through our proven four-pillar approach:

Therapeutic support within state care
Comprehensive reintegration pathways
Lifelong alumni community
Systems-level advocacy

Girls don't just heal - they thrive. They build futures on their own terms.

Your Impact: Today and Tomorrow

Partner with us to create immediate change and lasting transformation. Every investment in Emerge supports both individual survivors and strengthens the systems that serve them.

Citations

Rohanachandra, Y., Amarabandu, I., & Dassanayake, P. B. (2021). Child sexual abuse presenting to a teaching hospital in colombo, Sri Lanka. European Psychiatry, 64(S1), S631–S632. doi:10.1192/j.eurpsy.2021.1679

Emerge: Support Teen Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

With your support, we can enable kids to heal and live self-determined lives