Calling attention to the impact of conflict on women
March 8, 2008
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, HELP Advocates Sri Lanka expresses its profound concern for the women and children in Sri Lanka who are enduring violence, oppression, trauma and various forms of human rights violations.
Although women in Sri Lanka have equal rights under national, civil, and criminal law, gender-based violence is routinely perpetrated with impunity. Decades of conflict has led to conditions which exacerbate the violence. Hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankan Tamil women and girls living in internally displaced (IDP) camps and highly militarized conflict areas in predominantly Tamil regions in the north and east are especially vulnerable to harassment and violence. Rape and other forms of sexual violence at the hands of police and members of the armed forces are widely reported yet rarely prosecuted.
Nearly one-third of the children and one-quarter of the women in IDP camps and militarized zones have inadequate access to food and are plagued by malnutrition. Women are especially hard hit by malnutrition as they often sacrifice what little food they have to feed their children. Women’s health issues such as family planning, child bearing and feeding infants are largely neglected in camps and welfare sites.
A report by Human Rights Watch released this week explodes the epidemic of abductions and “disappearances” in Sri Lanka perpetrated by government security forces. Tamil men between the ages of 18 and 35 are most frequently targeted, leaving Tamil women to bear sole responsibility for supporting their families. With few options to support themselves, limited access to services and provisions and unable to meet the needs of their families, these women are traumatized by the culture of fear. Mental health services to deal with such trauma are woefully inadequate.
HELP Advocates Sri Lanka honors the many strong and courageous women in Sri Lanka who show astounding strength and courage in the face of conflict and loss. We call upon the United States government and the international community to urge parties to the conflict to strictly adhere to the humanitarian laws of war and protect innocent women, children and men. Until a peaceful resolution to the conflict is reached, women and children will continue to pay the price as innocent victims of war.