COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office

7 MARCH 2012 SRI LANKA
―The Committee is concerned about the persistence of stereotypes regarding the roles,
responsibilities and identities of women and men among the general public and the
media. The Committee is concerned that gender role stereotyping perpetuates
discrimination against women and girls and is reflected in their disadvantageous and
unequal status in many areas, such as employment, decision-making, land ownership,
education including sexual and reproductive education, sexual harassment and other
forms of violence against women, including violence in family relations.‖
20.04 The Freedom House report, Freedom in the World 2011, Sri Lanka 335 , covering events
in 2010, released on 10 August 2011 observed:
―Women are underrepresented in politics and the civil service. Female employees in the
private sector face some sexual harassment as well as discrimination in salary and
promotion opportunities. Rape and domestic violence remain serious problems, with
hundreds of complaints reported annually; existing laws are weakly enforced. Violence
against women, including rapes, increased along with the general fighting in the civil
conflict, and has also affected female prisoners and interned IDPs. The entrenchment of
the army in the north and east increased the risks of harassment and sexual abuse for
female civilians (many of whom are widows) in those areas. Although women have
equal rights under civil and criminal law, matters related to the family – including
marriage, divorce, child custody, and inheritance – are adjudicated under the customary
law of each ethnic or religious group, and the application of these laws sometimes
results in discrimination against women.‖
20.05 The International Crisis Group (ICG) report Sri Lanka: Women‘s Insecurity in the North
and East 336 , dated 20 December 2011, provides comprehensive information on the
situation of women in the north and the east.
LEGAL RIGHTS
The main text of this COI Report contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 3 February 2012.
Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section
to 2 March 2012.
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20.06 The US State Department 2010 Human Rights Report: Sri Lanka (USSD 2010) 337 ,
released on 8 April 2011 noted that: ―Women had equal rights under civil and criminal
law. However, adjudication according to the customary law of each ethnic or religious
group of questions related to family law, including divorce, child custody, and
inheritance, resulted in de facto discrimination.‖
335
Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2011, Sri Lanka , covering events in 2010, 10 August 2011,
accessed via Refworld
http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,,,LKA,,4e4268bd1a,0.html date accessed 10 January, Political
Rights and Civil Liberties
336
International Crisis Group (ICG), Sri Lanka: Women’s Insecurity in the North and East, Asia Report
N°217
20 Dec 2011 http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/asia/south-asia/srilanka/217%20Sri%20Lanka%20-
%20Womens%20Insecurity%20in%20the%20North%20and%20East%20KO.pdf date accessed 9 January
2011
337
US State Department 2010 Human Rights Report: Sri Lanka (USSD 2010), released on 8 April 2011,
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/sca/154486.htm , date accessed 11 May 2011, Section 6
135