COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office

SRI LANKA 7 MARCH 2012
to pay compensation to the victim. The burden of proof rests on the prosecution, which
must prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.‖
Female Genital Mutilation
20.40 The SIGI Gender Equality and Social Institutions in Sri Lanka 371 , undated (website
accessed on 3 February 2012) noted that ―Female genital mutilation is not a general
practice in Sri Lanka, although it is known to occur among some segments of the
Muslim population. At present, there is no legislation against FGM.‖ The Centre for
Reproductive Rights, Women of the World: South Asia, Sri Lanka chapter 372 observed
that: ―The practice of female circumcision on newborns is fairly widespread among the
Muslim community in Sri Lanka; the practice is not prohibited or regulated by law.‖ The
State of the World‘s Children 2011 373 does not provide any data on the incidence on
FGM/cutting for Sri Lanka.
See also Violence against children
Rape/domestic violence
20.41 The USSD 2010 report 374 observed that:
―The law prohibits rape and domestic violence but it was not effectively enforced.
Sexual assault, rape, and spousal abuse were pervasive societal problems. The law
specifically addresses sexual abuse and exploitation, and it contains provisions in rape
cases for an equitable burden of proof and stringent punishments. Marital rape is
considered an offense only in cases of spouses legally separated. While in theory the
law could address some of the problems of sexual assault, many women's
organizations believed that greater sensitization of police and the judiciary was
necessary to see progress in combating these crimes.
―Sexual harassment was a criminal offense carrying a maximum sentence of five years
in prison. Some observers acknowledged sexual harassment to be widespread;
however, enforcement of the law was not effective. Domestic violence was also thought
to be widespread, although, as with sexual harassment, discussion of these problems
was not common.‖
20.42 The UN Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women, Sri Lanka 375 , observed:
371 Social Institutions and Gender Index, Gender Equality and Social Institutions in Sri Lanka, undated,
http://genderindex.org/country/sri-lanka date accessed 3 February 2012
372 Centre for Reproductive Rights, Women of the World: South Asia, Sri Lanka chapter, undated
http://reproductiverights.org/sites/crr.civicactions.net/files/documents/pdf_wowsa_srilanka.pdf date
accessed 1 June 2011, p 230 - 231
373 UNICEF’s The State of the World’s Children 2011: Adolescence – An Age of Opportunity
http://www.unicef.org/sowc2011/pdfs/SOWC-2011-Main-Report_EN_02092011.pdf date accessed 31
May 2011, Table 9
374 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
148 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.