LGBT rights in Sri Lanka
Encyclopedia
Homosexuality
(same-sex sexual activity) is illegal under a broad provision dealing with, "gross indecency", and no national legislation exists to protect LGBT people from harassment or discrimination. However the penal provision dealing with "gross indecency" has never been applied by the courts against LGBT people.
In 2001, a gay right activist named Sherman de Rose was ordered to pay the "Island" newspaper legal fees for his rejected complaint against the publication to the Sri Lankan Press Council. The newspaper had printed a letter to the editor, which advocated submitting lesbians to convicted rapists in an effort to 'cure' them. In rejecting Rose's complaint against the newspaper, the Council stated that lesbianism is, "an act of sadism" itself, that homosexuality is an immoral and abnormal crime and that, as a man, Rose had no grounds to complain.
people, it has helped to open up a more public debate about gender roles and human sexuality. The high levels of poverty, combined with the stigma associated with the disease and conservative cultural mores has made it difficult to implement comprehensive prevention programs and to offer life saving treatment to those people already infected. In the late 1980s – 1990s, efforts to draft a national AIDS-HIV policy failed to pass and the subsequent political instability contributed to a tendenacy of the government to ignore the pandemic. Now a National AIDS Council has been established, the government formally recognize the United Nations World AIDS Day, more public education about the disease is available and efforts are being made to combat the prejudice people living with AIDS-HIV face in the workplace.
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
(same-sex sexual activity) is illegal under a broad provision dealing with, "gross indecency", and no national legislation exists to protect LGBT people from harassment or discrimination. However the penal provision dealing with "gross indecency" has never been applied by the courts against LGBT people.
Criminal law
Article 365A prohibits anyone, irrespective of gender, engaging in "gross indecency", which is not explicitly defined. Although stiffer sanctions apply if one person is under the age of 16 or if any sort of injury was caused as a result. While punishment involves heavy fines and long prison sentences, there are no recorded cases of the law being directly used against non-commercial, private, adult and consensual sexual conduct.Civil Rights
There is no special law to protect LGBT rights in Sri LankaIn 2001, a gay right activist named Sherman de Rose was ordered to pay the "Island" newspaper legal fees for his rejected complaint against the publication to the Sri Lankan Press Council. The newspaper had printed a letter to the editor, which advocated submitting lesbians to convicted rapists in an effort to 'cure' them. In rejecting Rose's complaint against the newspaper, the Council stated that lesbianism is, "an act of sadism" itself, that homosexuality is an immoral and abnormal crime and that, as a man, Rose had no grounds to complain.
Politics
The government has abstained from signing a proposed United Nations document that called for nations to respect LGBT rights.Psychological Help/Treatment
The government of Sri Lanka has no official program to educate the public regarding homosexuality or to aid individuals with Ego-dystonic sexual orientation. The WHO's ICD.10 diagnoses Ego-dystonic sexual orientation as thus ; The gender identity or sexual preference (heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or prepubertal) is not in doubt, but the individual wishes it were different because of associated psychological and behavioural disorders, and may seek treatment in order to change it. (F66.1)Family and marriage
Sri Lanka law does not recognize same-sex marriages or any similar civil union. There remains significant social pressure within Sri Lanka families to find a suitable partner of the opposite sex, marry and start a family. LGBT people who have come out to their family, often report being verbally or physically harassed.Transgender issues
While there are some traditional transgender practices associated with certain rituals, transgender people are victims of harassment and discrimination. The term ponnaya is a negative word often used against transgender people or effeminate men.Media & popular entertainment
- Flying with one Wing (2002) – Asoka Handagama wrote and directed this film about a Sri Lankan woman who passes for a man in the society and in her personal relationships.
AIDS–HIV
While AIDS–HIV is not only a problem for LGBTLGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
people, it has helped to open up a more public debate about gender roles and human sexuality. The high levels of poverty, combined with the stigma associated with the disease and conservative cultural mores has made it difficult to implement comprehensive prevention programs and to offer life saving treatment to those people already infected. In the late 1980s – 1990s, efforts to draft a national AIDS-HIV policy failed to pass and the subsequent political instability contributed to a tendenacy of the government to ignore the pandemic. Now a National AIDS Council has been established, the government formally recognize the United Nations World AIDS Day, more public education about the disease is available and efforts are being made to combat the prejudice people living with AIDS-HIV face in the workplace.
See also
- Human rights in Sri LankaHuman rights in Sri LankaMajor human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as the United States Department of State and the European Union, have expressed concern about the state of human rights in Sri Lanka. Both the government of Sri Lanka and the separatist Liberation Tigers of...
- LGBT rights in Asia