February 15, 2013 - Women’s rights activists in Sri Lanka on Thursday urged the government
to be more vigilant in protecting women from abuse during a candlelight vigil in the
capital, Colombo The event was part of a global campaign to end violence against
women. Sachini Perera, an activist from the Women and Media Collective and organizer
of the vigil, said that one in three women in Sri Lanka experience some form of sexual
assault. “We shouldn’t let this continue and be silent about it. We are here to ask
policymakers to stop violence against women,” she said. She added that violence against
women rose six percent last year over the previous year. “The situation is very bad,
the highest it has ever been,” she said. The participants at the vigil joined a global
alliance of rights groups, activists and concerned citizens taking part in the campaign
called ‘One Billion Rising’, inaugurated this year to highlight the estimated one
billion women worldwide who have suffered sexual or gender-based violence. Activists
say gender violence is rife in Sri Lanka. Four women, most of them below the age
of 18, were raped each day in 2012, according to police data. Sister Gayani Silva
blamed the legal system as well as attitudes among the male population to the social
status of women for the rise in gender-based violence. “More laws should be introduced,
but in fact even with existing laws very little is being done and young men should
be educated about women’s equality,” said Sr Gayani, who works with abused women and
children. Dr Udan Fernando, a specialist on international development issues and
a participant at the vigil, said violence against women is linked with society's views
on what it means to be a man. He further advocated the importance of collective campaigns
to end violence and said “when people act together, they get inspiration from each
other to face such problems.”