Photograph: German Embassy Colombo
The German Embassy in Colombo provided a grant of nearly Rs 4 million to a Sri Lankan NGO to support their project addressing Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) in Sri Lanka - which will benefit around 1500 women and children in areas such as Batticaloa and Jaffna.
The project – “Strengthening the Role of Women in Addressing Sexual and Gender Based Violence in Sri Lanka” – aiming to promote women empowerment, was provided with the donation on Wednesday 15 July, by German Ambassador Joern Rohde.
Women In Need (WIN), set up the project to “commemorate the anniversary of the adoption of UN Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security in 2000, as well as other UN resolutions which seek to promote the respect of women’s rights in society all over the world.”
The project is described as one that will primarily “strengthen the existing mechanisms currently in place when dealing with victims of sexual and gender based violence in order to increase gender sensitivity and responsiveness as well as to ensure the protection of women’s and girl’s rights” and will be achieved through several supportive initiatives and programs.
The Embassy also expressed their support as a “timely initiative” that will combat the crisis of increased domestic violence as a result of lockdown measures imposed for the global pandemic.
They also insisted that their support will “commemorate the anniversary of the adoption of UN Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security in 2000, as well as other UN resolution which seek to promote the respect of women’s rights in society all over the world. An important part of this goal is the protection of women against sexual violence.”
“Victims of SGBV will be offered psychological and counselling support during the duration of the project,” they added.
Earlier this year, serious concerns relating to impunity for sexual and gender-based violence were highlighted by Amnesty International in a blog marking International Women’s Day, where it stressed that despite repeated assurances by consecutive governments to address the issue, the level of impunity remains high in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lankan President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa promised on International Women’s Day 2020 that women ‘will not be subject to any violence or discrimination’. Yet, he has failed to address this issue that has become a heightened concern as a result of the lockdown measures.
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