The first-ever dedicated survey on the prevalence of violence against women and girls, conducted in all 25 districts of Sri Lanka in 2019—the UNFPA-supported Women’s Wellbeing Survey (WWS)—revealed that one in five (20.4 percent) ever-partnered women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. The study also revealed that one in five (18.1 percent) women have experienced economic abuse by a partner in their lifetime.
In conversation with State Minister of Estate Housing and Community Infrastructure Jeevan Thondaman, he said that the issue of domestic abuse had seen an increase in the rural sector during the COVID-19 outbreak. However, he added that even though more women are vocal about the issues of intimate partner violence, society continues to neglect such issues.
“These concerns are not taken seriously by the authorities, by the people at home, and by society. I have come across cases where women have been told to “Get over it. It will be okay in a week or two.” How can we expect women to come forward if this is the response they get?”the State Minister pointed out.
Q. Although Sri Lanka is a top performer in South Asia in terms of human development outcomes, the Women’s Wellbeing Survey has made it clear that violence against women and girls is an issue that cuts across several sectors of our society. What more can be done at a policy level to protect women and girls in Sri Lanka?
A. This is something which I have said before and I will say it again - At a policy level, I think that our education system has to be changed. This is where the problem originates, and a lack of awareness follows. I am sure it is more common in the rural sector. The numbers are high in the rural sector because of the lack of awareness, and lack of proper direction. In fact, in our education system, it clearly states that when a woman is raped, the victim is to be blamed depending on her attire etc. The problem starts from there. When I say there is a lack of awareness, I mean lack of awareness on how women can get help and so they can speak up. They need to know that they can speak up and that confidential help is available.
Q. Physical violence by a partner was reported at a much higher proportion of ever-partnered women living in the estate sector. More than one third (39.6 percent) of ever-partnered women on estates have experienced physical/ sexual violence during their lifetime. What is the Ministry’s approach to addressing this issue?
A. Regarding that, we are trying to sit down with the Justice Minister and see how we can go about changing things. The Women’s Wellbeing Survey did help us out, because we were lacking evidence to fully portray the issue. The last data we had on gender-based violence was from 2016. So, when we came across this survey, it was a reality check for us as well. We discussed how we could put an end to this. When we started speaking to people in this sector, one thing we realised was that a lot of people have this mentality that violence in the home is perfectly normal and that it should not be a public issue.
I am also trying to bring about another initiative through the Ministry since I have the PHDT and another instrument called ‘Prajashakthi’ under me. Under Prajashakthi, we have around 40 centres, based in 10 districts in rural areas. These centres were strategically established in areas where there were no development activities. We have started awareness campaigns through these centres.
We conduct after-school seminars for children who are studying for their Ordinary Level examinations and we are targeting these students. One of the concerns which the students brought up is that even though we teach these aspects in school from morning till evening, once they go home they deal with things that are completely against whatever they have been taught. So, they deal with domestic abuse in their homes. They see their mother or sister being abused. But, it is only after these seminars that they were able to understand that this is wrong and needs to be reported. This clearly shows that the system has failed somewhat in educating our children. Rectifying that is one step we are taking.
The second step we have taken is that we have partnered with the Child Protection Force, an NGO run by Milani Salpitikorala. We have partnered with them and allocated resources to conduct their project in Nuwara Eliya. We feel that we will be able to provide legal help for people who have been victims of domestic abuse while also providing rehabilitation. I think we have to thank the UNFPA and DCS for producing the Women’s Wellbeing Survey report that brings these findings to light.
Q. The Women’s Wellbeing Survey reported that almost half (49.3 percent) of women that experienced sexual violence by a partner did not seek formal help anywhere. Why do you think women do not come out and speak up about intimate partner violence/ domestic violence?
A. If I am to be politically correct, yes, women do not come out and talk about it. Because if you take the Asian culture in general, there are high numbers of domestic violence that goes unreported.
But if you want me to be honest, I do believe that there is a significant portion of women who are being vocal about it. But, it is neglected. These concerns are not taken seriously by the authorities, by the people at home, and by society. That is a very big problem. No one speaks about that. Even I have come across cases where women have complained about domestic abuse to various authorities. Their responses have been, “They’ll get over it. Go and talk. It will be okay in a week or two”. The most common reply they get is, “You have children. You cannot deal with this now.” They scare women so they do not go ahead with their complaints. That should not be the case. That discourages any woman from being vocal about it.
The worst part here is not only the men. It is the women discouraging women. When we started studying the situation, we found out that most of the time it is the mother who discourages the daughter by telling her she has to just deal with it. This is the sad reality. We must break this barrier.
(The Women’s Wellbeing Survey (WWS), administered by the Census and Statistics Department, was technically supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) with funding from the Canadian Government.)
Add new comment