16 Days of Activism against GBV: Urgent need to mitigate issue in online spaces
One of the most common human rights violations in the world is violence against women and girls, which affects females in all economic, social and national spheres.
The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence annual international campaign began on November 25, the International Day to End Violence against Women.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is the lead agency working to respond to and reduce genderbased violence across the world.
On Friday, the UNFPA held a panel discussion and expressed some key points.
Nearly 25% of the female population in Sri Lanka has experienced either physical, sexual or mental violence, and many who experienced sexual violence from their partner did not seek help anywhere, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Parliamentarian Thalatha Atukorale said recently.
"Because of our culture and social norms women do not like to disclose violence from their partners, as they do not want to disrepute their families or partners," she said.
She also said the Constitution consists of provisions for equal rights irrespective of race, religion, cast and gender, but even when women come forward to report violence most often it takes a long time to bring justice to the victim.
There is also an urgent necessity to work against gender based violence in online spaces, Management Systems International (MSI) Party Chief Gowthaman Balachandran said.
According to data with regard to technology assisted violence against women 19.6% of those who shared their experiences said they had received intimate pictures or videos of someone, he said.
"Technology is an enabler to do anything. However, the core problem with this issue is the overarching patriarchy within this play out. Irrespective of whether it is online or real life, unequal power balances are critical with this issue," Mr. Balachandran said.
Speaking at the event, UNFPA Country Representative Kunle Adeniyi said despite numerous policies and forums aimed at combating genderbased violence, the problem persists in Sri Lanka.
"We must consider how much difference our work is making. We discuss this issue year after year, and there are many platforms to do so, but we need to understand how these things work to reduce gender-based violence," he said.