COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office

7 MARCH 2012 SRI LANKA
―The Committee is concerned that, despite the adoption of the Prevention of Domestic
Violence Act, there are significant delays before cases are processed under this Act. It
appears from the constructive dialogue that most cases are dealt with through police
mediation, and that family relations prevail over protection of women and suppression of
violence against women. The Committee is further concerned that marital rape is
recognized only if a judge has previously acknowledged the separation of the spouses.
It also regrets the absence of specific data and information on domestic violence. The
Committee is concerned that the criminalization of same sex relationship results in
women being completely excluded from legal protection. It is also concerned about the
information that the law enforcement officers are allowed to arbitrarily detain them.‖
20.43 The UN Concluding observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, dated 9 December 2010, expressed:
―…deep concern that in spite of the high incidence of domestic violence against women
and children in the State party, the provisions of the Prevention of Domestic Violence
Act No.3 of 2005 remain insufficiently known, notably by the police, and that protection
orders are seldom issued and perpetrators rarely prosecuted. The Committee also
notes with concern the absence of temporary shelter for women and children victims of
domestic violence and the considerable delays to obtain court decisions in this matter.‖
20.44 The ICG report Sri Lanka: Women‘s Insecurity in the North and East 376 , dated 20
December 2011 noted that:
―There have been alarming incidents of gender-based violence, including domestic
violence within the Tamil community, in part fuelled by rising alcohol use by men. Many
women have been forced into prostitution or coercive sexual relationships. Some have
also been trafficked within the country and abroad. Pregnancies among teenagers have
increased. Fear of abuse has further restricted women‘s movement and impinged on
education and employment opportunities.
―The current situation in the north and east comes in the wake of serious accusations of
sexual violence by the military against Tamil women at the end of the war and in the
months thereafter. There is credible evidence to support some of these accusations. Yet
cultural stigma, decades of impunity, and the government‘s refusal to allow a
independent investigation of the end of the war and its aftermath make it impossible to
determine the full extent of misconduct. In a well-known rape case in the north in June
2010, criminal prosecution has been pending for eighteen months against four soldiers
following concerted pressure from local women‘s groups. But this is a striking
exception.‖
20.45 The same IGC report 377 added:
375
UN Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women,
Sri Lanka 375 , 4 February 2011 http://www2.ohchr.org/tbru/cedaw/CEDAW-C-LKA-CO-7.pdf , date
accessed 25 May 2011, p5
376
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, Executive Summary
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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