Sri Lanka: every 90 seconds a woman subjected to sexual violence
(October 5, 2012) In Sri Lanka, every 90 seconds a woman is a victim of sexual violence,
according to the Women's Action for Social Justice (WASJ), an organization for the
care and protection of women's rights. But the abuse of women - representing 53%
of the country's population - does not stop at rape in the workplace, they are often
exploited and badly paid, more often than not, they find themselves forced to go abroad
to seek employment and support the family. WASJ emphasizes that women's conditions
have profound consequences, on the family, children, and the entire community. The
Association held an awareness raising seminar on October 2 on the theme "Eradicating
all forms of violence against women, with a female perspective" The meeting was hosted
by the Centre for Society and Religion (CSR) of Maradana. WASJ member Sister Christine
Noel commented that, "in today's society, the woman is the most oppressed and less
valued of human beings." In fact, at least 450 thousand women farmers earn just 295
rupees (about 1.7 euro) per day and nearly 200 thousand migrant workers - many of
them children - are abused. The majority of Sri Lankans leave to find work, are employed
as maids and waitresses, often suffering violence and torture. Another alarming fact
about the female population of the north (the majority Tamil area most affected by
the civil war, ed): here, 46% of mothers suffer from malnutrition, and about 29% of
children under five are underweight. The situation is difficult for young people
(boys and girls) who work as laborers in the Free Trade Zone or in the textile industry:
according to WASJ, at least 400 thousand are underpaid.