Sri Lanka tops in sexual harassment in South Asia

By Lakmal Sooriyagoda

Sri Lanka tops in the South Asian region on women being sexual harassed in public transport, the Legal Aid Commission Chairman said yesterday.

LAC Chairman S.S. Wijeratne made this revelation while addressing the White Ribbon campaign that was held at Bastian Mawatha aiming to stop sexual harassment in public transport.

Referring to a journal report that was published recently, Wijeratne said as Sri Lankans we should be seriously concerned about the matter.

“Though the population in India is higher than Sri Lanka, no as many sexual harassment incidents in public transport are being reported in India in comparison to us.”

However, he said owing to several public awareness campaigns, there has been a gradual decrease of such incidents in recent past.   

Wijeratne said that the victimised women in public transport were reluctant to make complaints about the matter to the bus conductors, bus drivers, or the Police.

“They used to bear it up themselves without seeking legal assistance. The LAC is ready to assist and appear on behalf of the victimised women in public transport.”

He further said the campaign against sexual harassment in public transport would be carried out until a proper environment for women is created in the country.