International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) have released a report quoting three female victims who were used as sexual slaves by the Sri Lankan military over prolonged periods under custody.
The cases occurred in 2007, 2009-2013 and 2012-2015 and include different sites: one near Vavuniya, one near Puttalam, one in Colombo and one outside of Colombo but not in the North or East.
“Two of the women describe being detained in a group in one room, available for any soldier to come and chose from and take to an adjacent room or tent to be raped,” the report stated.
“In two cases, the women described regularly being given pills or injections by the security forces, which they assumed were for birth control; in the third case the women became pregnant as a result of the rape.”
The report also included incidents of other forms of torture and violence described by 55 women that were under custody by the military and police – 48 of which occurred under the Rajapaksa government and 7 of which took place under the current Sirisena regime.
ITJP has submitted information to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and provided several recommendations. CEDAW is to review women’s rights in Sri Lanka on February 22nd.
See ITJP's full submission here.
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