COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office
COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office
COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office
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7 MARCH <strong>2012</strong> SRI LANKA<br />
―The Committee is concerned that, despite the adoption of the Prevention of Domestic<br />
Violence Act, there are significant delays before cases are processed under this Act. It<br />
appears from the constructive dialogue that most cases are dealt with through police<br />
mediation, and that family relations prevail over protection of women and suppression of<br />
violence against women. The Committee is further concerned that marital rape is<br />
recognized only if a judge has previously acknowledged the separation of the spouses.<br />
It also regrets the absence of specific data and information on domestic violence. The<br />
Committee is concerned that the criminalization of same sex relationship results in<br />
women being completely excluded from legal protection. It is also concerned about the<br />
information that the law enforcement officers are allowed to arbitrarily detain them.‖<br />
20.43 The UN Concluding observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural<br />
Rights, dated 9 December 2010, expressed:<br />
―…deep concern that in spite of the high incidence of domestic violence against women<br />
and children in the State party, the provisions of the Prevention of Domestic Violence<br />
Act No.3 of 2005 remain insufficiently known, notably by the police, and that protection<br />
orders are seldom issued and perpetrators rarely prosecuted. The Committee also<br />
notes with concern the absence of temporary shelter for women and children victims of<br />
domestic violence and the considerable delays to obtain court decisions in this matter.‖<br />
20.44 The ICG report Sri Lanka: Women‘s Insecurity in the North and East 376 , dated 20<br />
December 2011 noted that:<br />
―There have been alarming incidents of gender-based violence, including domestic<br />
violence within the Tamil community, in part fuelled by rising alcohol use by men. Many<br />
women have been forced into prostitution or coercive sexual relationships. Some have<br />
also been trafficked within the country and abroad. Pregnancies among teenagers have<br />
increased. Fear of abuse has further restricted women‘s movement and impinged on<br />
education and employment opportunities.<br />
―The current situation in the north and east comes in the wake of serious accusations of<br />
sexual violence by the military against Tamil women at the end of the war and in the<br />
months thereafter. There is credible evidence to support some of these accusations. Yet<br />
cultural stigma, decades of impunity, and the government‘s refusal to allow a<br />
independent investigation of the end of the war and its aftermath make it impossible to<br />
determine the full extent of misconduct. In a well-known rape case in the north in June<br />
2010, criminal prosecution has been pending for eighteen months against four soldiers<br />
following concerted pressure from local women‘s groups. But this is a striking<br />
exception.‖<br />
20.45 The same IGC report 377 added:<br />
375<br />
UN Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women,<br />
Sri Lanka 375 , 4 February 2011 http://www2.ohchr.org/tbru/cedaw/CEDAW-C-LKA-CO-7.pdf , date<br />
accessed 25 May 2011, p5<br />
376<br />
International Crisis Group (ICG), Sri Lanka: Women’s Insecurity in the North and East, Asia <strong>Report</strong><br />
N°217<br />
20 Dec 2011 http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/asia/south-asia/srilanka/217%20Sri%20Lanka%20-<br />
%20Womens%20Insecurity%20in%20the%20North%20and%20East%20KO.pdf date accessed 9 January<br />
2011, Executive Summary<br />
The main text of this <strong>COI</strong> <strong>Report</strong> contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 3 February <strong>2012</strong>.<br />
Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section<br />
to 2 <strong>March</strong> <strong>2012</strong>.<br />
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