Violence against women has remained a global menace despite national and international human rights instruments that have been introduced so far. The Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the supreme law of the country that upholds gender equality and affirmative action for women within its fundamental rights chapter. The Women’s Charter of Sri Lanka was another legal assurance given for the females and the girl child, in line with the international standards of gender justice.
The Penal Code which upholds the criminal justice of the country is another paramount instrument which endeavours to remedy violence against women. As it was introduced to the country by the British colonial rulers, the Penal Code lacked certain provisions and interpretations to uphold women’s rights in the current context. Responding to the lacunae, Amendments were brought to the Penal Code a couple of times i.e. in 1995 and 2005, to ensure that women are protected by the criminal law of the country. But, despite the substantive law being more female friendly, the procedural aspects as well as the attitudes of society towards women is yet to be ameliorated.
Social impact
It is useless to converse on violence against women disregarding its social impact. Women play a major role in the family. The concept of family heavily depends on its main female character. As a mother, daughter or a sister, she always makes herself responsible for her family unit. If she is physically or psychologically abused or subjected to any sort of violence, it would directly affect the whole family unit and its integrity. Her depression would be the culmination of a vulnerable and ineffective society.
Even lawmakers have implemented a number of laws; the lack of prevention of violence always leads a woman to be vulnerable and defenceless in society. In the instance of any such violation, they would indefinitely be rendered helpless.
They are not equipped with enough confidence to access justice. Unfortunately, the accessibility to justice for women has been restricted by society and its patriarchal attitudes. Even if a woman is confident enough to approach law enforcement authorities, gender sensitivity of these institutions are heavily doubted.
The impact of violence against women on society will create a number of social, cultural, economic and political issues subconsciously, that would lead us to many difficulties as a nation. It is a sinking ship, a deterioration of our proud culture and civilization.
Despite the abundance of domestic and international mechanisms for the protection of the rights and liberties of women as well as the girl child, certain lacunas are visible which need the immediate attention of the authorities concerned.
Even though substantive equality is said to be firmly established within society, in reality, it is not so. Formal equality, which is the common understanding of equality does not really cater to curb violence against women. The underlying discriminatory practices do not seem to be visible due to the set attitudes of patriarchy that are inculcated within the people. The enforcement of existing laws needs to be implemented.
What needs to be done
Laws in favour of women’s rights can be found a dime a dozen. Breathing new life into this black letter law is all that is needed. Institutional mechanisms should be created to rejuvenate the existing rigid legal framework. Creative interpretation of laws so as to avoid or minimize violence against women would also be helpful.
Avoiding undue delays in the criminal justice system is of paramount importance. The recent rape and murder case of Vidya in Jaffna was heard continuously at the Jaffna High Court for six consecutive days. This is good practice. Access to justice should be as effective as possible. Not only Vidya, every woman should be able to attain justice, undelayed and undenied.
Awarding adequate compensation for the crimes these women face is also of importance. Women have always been considered second class citizens in patriarchal societies such as ours. Equality in compensating victims should be upheld, to provide more assistance for these women.
Enacting special courts to address issues such as child matters, rape, divorce and maintenance etc. would be a good start to enhance gender justice.
A special High Court for child matters is now functioning in the Anuradhapura District. These courts should be expanded island wide. Expeditious enforcement of sentencing the culprits is another pathway that would enhance faith in a proper mechanism of law enforcement.
Mobilization of the criminal justice system within the law enforcement authorities are also a necessity within the status-quo. Impunity of the alleged law enforcement officers should be eliminated, in order to enhance the trust within these women towards accessing justice through institutions, such as, the police. Not only the Judiciary, other institutional reforms are also necessary. Both, government and non-government institutions should be made gender sensitive. Educating the victims and the general public (especially at the school level) on good parenting and sex education as well as improving legal literacy of women should be implemented island wide. Introducing humane values to different cultures and respecting cultural relativism would be a start to eradicate the problems at grassroots level. Increasing political participation and cultural representation of women in the legislature can lead to enacting more laws that are gender sensitive.
We live in a country where we proudly state that we belong to a culture and civilization that runs back centuries. Starting from Kuveni, women have played an iconic role in flourishing our nation. Women and the girl child should never be left behind on narrow perspectives.
It is high time we took the initiative to rejuvenate the existing legal framework, in order to have a better future not only as a nation, but also as a civilization with great potential.