Of the 39 children, 17 are boys and 22 are girls. Officials also noted that Sri Lanka’s prisons currently house 1,529 women inmates, including 1,304 on remand and 225 convicted. Mental health specialists caution that the stress and violence of prison life can cause lasting developmental harm. The plight of these 39 children has become emblematic of a wider crisis in Sri Lanka’s penal system. A government audit based on data collected between 2015-2022 notes that Sri Lanka’s prison capacity has been exceeded by 232%.