A report on marginalisation and sexual violence against women in the Northeast by NGO ‘Minority Rights Group’ (MRG) has found that the Sri Lankan government actively contributes to rights violations and insecurity among Tamil women in the Northeast and also said that the situation for many Tamil women has only got worse since the end of the war.

In the report’s key findings, MRG explains that many Tamil women in the Northeast are required to be breadwinners, but have not seen an improvement in their rights or status, instead being left out of official development programmes. The report also says that the government’s ‘pervasive’ militarisation had ‘negative consequences for the safety and freedom’ of Tamil women, and actively led to rights violations and insecurity. MRG also noted that female household leaders were especially vulnerable to land grabs and other violations.

The Sri Lankan Army responded, denying allegations that military presence is responsible for sexual violence and insecurity in the Northeast, writing them off as a “myth” and presenting statistics claiming that "in a majority of cases, the perpetrators had been close relatives or neighbours of the victim and had been of Tamil ethnicity".

See full MRG report: ‘Living with insecurity: Marginalization and sexual violence against women in north and east Sri Lanka’ (PDF)

Extracts from the reports executive summary below:

“In the latter stages of the conflict and its aftermath, military forces were responsible for a variety of human rights abuses against the civilian population, including extrajudicial killings, disappearance, rape, sexual harassment and other violations. In the current climate of impunity, sustained by insecurity and the lack of military accountability, these abuses continue.”

“The militarization of the north and east from 2009 has contributed to continued insecurity for minority women. Many, especially widows and the wives of disappeared or ‘surrenderees’, are vulnerable to sexual harassment, exploitation or assault by army personnel or other militias. The military presence in the area, together with the increasing chauvinism of Sri Lanka’s political and religious hierarchy, has also reduced their cultural and religious freedoms – including their right to mourn their dead.”

“Resettlement in the north and east, not only by those displaced during the armed conflict but also through government-sponsored relocation of Sinhalese workers and households, has raised tensions between communities in the current divisive environment. This is the result not only of disputes over land and resources but also differing social and cultural norms. The increasing prevalence of sexual exploitation and relationships, coerced or otherwise, has put women on the frontline of these conflicts.”

“In fact, state and military policies are actively contributing to insecurity and the marginalization of women in the north and east.”