Violence against women on the rise: Report

Despite being high on education and other social indices, at least 60 per cent of all women in Sri Lanka have experienced domestic violence, an international study has said.

Specialists believe such abuse is on the increase in a country that scores well on most social issues such as education and healthcare, according to the Gender-Based Violence Forum (GBV Forum), a collective of UN and other international and local organisations.

It observed that 60 per cent of Sri Lankan women have experienced domestic violence despite the nation's good record on education and healthcare.

"The prevalence of gender-based violence is reported to be high and widespread, cutting across class, race, ethnicity and religion," the Lene K Christiansen, the country representative for the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), said.

"While some positive measures to address gender-based violence through enactment of laws are in place, it remains hidden in the private domain, shrouded by a veil of silence and denial," she said at a function here to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women late last week.

The GBV Forum stated that the number of reported incidents had been increasing. "Whether this is due to increasing incidents of gender-based violence or due to efforts by many organisations to encourage women to speak out against this crime remains unclear," it said.

Nonetheless, even the increasing incidence of abuse did not indicate the true dimensions of the problem, it stated.