Équité Sri Lanka, an organization working towards ensuring the rights of the individuals with diver gender identities, expressions and sexual orientations launched the “A Brief Quantitative Research on Civil and Political Rights of the LGBT community Living in Sri Lanka” in collaboration with the Social Scientists’ Association on 15.03.2024 at Jetwing Colombo 07.
This research represents the most extensive study ever undertaken in Sri Lanka to safeguard and advance the rights of the LGBTIQ+ community. It involved the participation of 856 individuals from the LGBTIQ+ community, encompassing all ethnic backgrounds including Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim, and Burgher, and spanning across all districts of the island.
At the invitation of Équité, the Social Scientists’ Association undertook a comprehensive study addressing various aspects of the educational rights, healthcare, employment, political engagement, voting privileges, law enforcement encounters, police assistance, access to legal aid and judicial resources, interactions with government officials, support from Grama Niladari for gender affirmation
documentation changes, as well as housing and infrastructure concerns within the LGBTIQ+ community.
Accompanying the launch of this research report, a panel discussion was held with an esteemed panel; Professor Farzana Hanifa, Commissioner for the National Human Rights Commission, Sri Lanka, Mr. Asanga Karawita, Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police, Mr. Saman Sri Ratnayake, Election Commissioner General, Dr. Pradeep Peris,Director of the Social Scientists’ Association and Head of
the Political Science Department at the University of Colombo, Radika Gunaratne, Human Rights Lawyer, and Anthony Nesaraja, a young human rights advocate representing the Malayaga Tamil community.
During this discourse, the challenges confronting the LGBTIQ+ community and the limitations on their fundamental rights were deliberated upon, alongside proposed actions to be taken by governmental bodies, political authorities, stakeholders, and policymakers. During the discussion, Election Commissioner Mr. Saman Ratnayake pledged that the commission would enact necessary policy adjustments to safeguard the voting rights of the LGBTIQ+ community in forthcoming elections.
Furthermore, concerns regarding violence perpetrated against the LGBTIQ+ community by law enforcement officers were addressed, with Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Asanga Karavita providing insight into the current measures implemented by the Sri Lanka Police and the training initiatives conducted through the National Police Academy.
Human Rights Commissioner Professor Farzana Hanifa and Director of the Association of Social Scientists and Head of the Political Science Department of the University of Colombo Dr. Pradeep Peers have presented facts regarding the facts contained in the research report and emphasized on the advocacy measures taken by the National level Stakeholders and Policy makers to ensure the rights of
the LGBTIQ+ community.
The research report has been translated in all three languages Sinhala, Tamil and English and please reach out to email [email protected] for any further information
