Tamil survivors document Sri Lanka’s sexual violence and demand accountability

Tamil survivors of  sexual violence have detailed the enduring impact of abuse perpetrated by Sri Lankan state forces, warning that justice and reparations remain entirely absent more than sixteen years after the end of the armed conflict in a report launched by the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) today.

The findings are outlined in the report which comes following a two-year consultation process with exiled Tamil survivors now residing in the United Kingdom. The consultation was conducted by the ITJP, in partnership with the Global Survivors Fund, and focused on the justice and reparation needs of Tamil survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.

The report documents how sexual violence was used against Tamils not as isolated acts, but as part of a wider pattern of repression by Sri Lankan security forces. Survivors who participated in the consultation described being subjected to sexual violence during detention, interrogation, and so-called rehabilitation, as well as after the formal end of the armed conflict in 2009.

The consultation draws on the findings of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which previously concluded that sexual violence against Tamils was “widespread and systemic”. The report notes that such violence was used to torture, intimidate, humiliate, and instil fear, following consistent patterns across different detention sites, time periods, and security agencies.

Participants in the consultation described the profound and long-lasting effects of sexual violence on their physical and mental health, family relationships, and social standing. Survivors spoke of chronic pain, untreated injuries, psychological trauma, stigma, and social exclusion. Many highlighted the devastating impact on family life, including the transmission of trauma across generations.

Survivors also explained that the sexual violence they suffered had a wider psychological impact on their whole community: “videos of how the Sri Lankan Army abused women – even the corpses of women; this has a big impact on our community,” they said. Seeing the perpetrators punished was an overriding desire, because “that will give us some satisfaction”.

Another said:

“This is systematic and deliberate on our community, mostly taking place as part of the torture in order to destroy the morale, unique and cultural identities of Tamils and to humiliate the individuals”.

Despite the establishment of multiple commissions other mechanisms by successive Sri Lankan governments, the report concludes that none have delivered credible accountability or meaningful redress. Survivors described legal remedies within Sri Lanka as ineffective, inaccessible, and unsafe, particularly given that the alleged perpetrators remain embedded within state institutions.

The lack of justice for the crimes suffered returned as a theme again and again: “The legal system does not have a solution to our problems. And even when we try to make someone accountable, they find another ten ways to escape the legal system, and perpetrators are not punished,” said one man.

The consultation also highlighted the severe risks faced by survivors who attempt to seek justice within Sri Lanka, including surveillance, harassment, and the threat of re-arrest. These conditions, the report notes, make domestic accountability processes fundamentally unviable.

Survivors participating in the consultation articulated clear priorities for reparations, including access to psychosocial support, medical care, legal assistance, housing, education, and opportunities to restore dignity and social standing. Crucially, they stressed that reparations cannot be separated from truth, acknowledgment, and accountability for the crimes committed.

The report further warns that the Sri Lankan state’s persistent denial of conflict-related sexual violence actively undermines international efforts to support survivors, obstructs access to justice under universal jurisdiction, and contributes to the erasure of Tamil experiences of state violence.

Read the full text of the report here.