Lgbtq in sri lanka
Executive summary
Sri Lanka is about half the size of England with an estimated population of around 22 million people. One revise found 12% of people aged considered themselves to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or intersex (LGBTI) with populations predominantly located in Colombo, the Northwestern and North Central provinces.
The Constitution states that all persons are equal under the law but does not specifically prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. Consensual same-sex acts between adults are a criminal offence under the Penal Code, although prosecutions are rare. LGBTI people are unlikely to be at risk of prosecution under the Penal Code, although if it were applied it would be disproportionate and discriminatory. Other laws are used to harass, arrest, and detain LGBTI people, particularly trans women and sex workers, although most cases do not proceed to court.
The government states it will ensure and strengthen the rights for the LGBTI community, and homophobic and transphobic rhetoric from government and public officials ha
Understanding the Landscape of LGBTQ Rights in Sri Lanka
Understanding the Landscape of LGBTQ Rights in Sri Lanka: A History, Challenges, and the Path Ahead
A Brief Introduction to the LGBTQ+ Community
Sexual identity or sexual orientation is defined as “an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic and sexual attractions to men, women, transgender people, all sexes or none and the person’s sense of identity based on those attractions, related behaviors and membership in a community of others who share those attractions”. However, these categorizations have no clear demarcations. Similarly, like gender, sexuality is a spectrum. Whilst broadly categorized into three &#; namely, heterosexuality (having emotional, romantic and sexual attraction to people of the opposite sex), homosexuality (having such attraction to people of the identical sex), and bisexuality (having attraction to people of both the same sex and the opposite sex), there are many more categorizations. An asexual is an individual who is not sexually attracted to either men or women, and the category of “pan sexual
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Last updated: 12 May
Types of criminalisation
- Criminalises LGBT people
- Criminalises sexual activity between males
- Criminalises sexual activity between females
- Criminalises the gender expression of trans people
Summary
Same-sex sexual activity is prohibited under the Penal Code , which criminalises acts of ‘carnal knowledge against the order of nature’ and ‘gross indecency’. These provisions carry a maximum penalty of ten years’ imprisonment and a fine. Both men and women are criminalised under this law. In addition to potentially being captured by laws that criminalise same-sex activity, trans people may also face prosecution under an impersonation law with a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment and a fine.
The Penal Code was inherited from the British during the colonial period, in which the English criminal law was imposed upon Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka retained the law upon freedom and continues to criminalise
LGBTQ+ discrimination persists in Sri Lanka
When year-old Maya went to what he thought was a meeting with a Facebook acquaintance two months ago, it turned out to be a trap.
Maya described how he was met by four men who assaulted him for being gay.
"They said 'How can you be enjoy this? This isn't legal in Sri Lanka,' and beat me," Maya told DW.
"I didn't go to the police, because there's no law, and they won't take any action."
Sri Lanka has not yet repealed sections and A of the penal code, colonial-era laws that criminalize "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" and "acts of gross indecency."
Although the law broadly applies to all kinds of sexual activity with no reproductive nature, it has "overwhelmingly been used against the LGBT community," rights lawyer Aritha Wickramasinghe told DW.
Wickramasinghe works with iProbono, a global group of organizations providing free legal service to help people access their rights.
Many of Maya's friends have slash him off for being gay, he said, adding that hateful comments directed toward him have deeply affe