Inside Justice: SGBV in Sri Lanka

Overview  

The Inside Justice Project of The Asia Foundation Sri Lanka Office has been working to improve formal justice sector responses to cases of domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence against women and girls in Sri Lanka since 2016. The overall objective of this work is to redress cases of domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence (SGBV) through access to just, fair, and sensitive judicial processes. The Inside Justice Project adopts a multi-stakeholder approach—partnering with government institutions such as the Attorney General’s Department of Sri Lanka, local non-governmental organizations such as Women and Need and Women and Media Collective, and professional bodies such as the Bar Association of Sri Lanka.

This page consolidates some of the material designed, developed, and published by the Inside Justice Project. It includes research and lessons learned reports, advocacy and awareness campaign material, and other resource material targeting various stakeholders in the formal justice sector including lawyers, Judges, service providers, and development partners. The resource material and awareness material developed based on a victim-centric approach, highlight the challenges, gaps, and justice sector practices a victim-survivor of domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence may experience in the formal justice process.

The Inside Justice Project was started with seed funding from the Lotus Circle through the Women’s Empowerment Program of the Foundation and was supported by the European Union. To access more resources and learn about the Inside Justice Project, contact the Gender & Justice Program team at [email protected].

Inside Justice: Making Courts Safe for Women Victims of Violence (2020), a resource book by The Asia Foundation was developed as a manual with reference material to be used at trainings for those in the formal justice sector including judicial offices. It was developed based on findings on formal justice sector responses and practices when dealing with cases of domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence in Sri Lanka. The resource book includes training videos (in English, Sinhala, and Tamil), discussion guides, progressive judgements, research findings, tools, and tips to encourage sensitive responses to cases of domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence. The resource book is a living document and contains sensitive content and, therefore, will be shared only upon request. Please reach out to the Gender and Justice Program of the Sri Lanka office to obtain the full resource book inclusive of audio-visual material.

 

Inside Justice: Enabling Justice for Victim Survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, Sharing of The Asia Foundation’s Experiences

September 30, 2021

Publication

This report is for individuals and organizations working on women’s rights and eradicating violence against women and girls from various sectors including the development sector and justice sector. While acknowledging that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to designing and implementing projects on responding to domestic, sexual, and gender-bas… Read more

 

Why Accessing Justice is Challenging for Victims of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

September 30, 2021

Publication

This report is for anyone interested in understanding the process and challenges faced by a victim-survivor of domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence within the formal legal redress mechanism. This research was conducted by the Inside Justice Project’s main implementing partner Women in Need (WIN). It compiles victim survivors’ experiences and… Read more

 

Handbook on Victim Assistance

September 30, 2021

Publication

This handbook is for those who directly interact with and provide services to victim-survivors of domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence, including first responders and those providing counseling and legal aid services. The handbook was compiled for Women in Need (WIN) with The Asia Foundation’s technical support. It was developed through a co… Read more

 

Inside Justice: Enabling Justice for Victim Survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, Notes for Legal Practitioners

September 30, 2021

Publication

This report consists of brief notes for legal professionals including judicial officers, lawyers, prosecutors, and legal aid providers as well as aspiring legal professionals and law students. Highlighting the need for gender-sensitive legal practitioners, the report presents findings documented through the exploration of formal justice sector resp… Read more

 

The Road to Justice

September 30, 2021

Video

The Road to Justice video traces the journey of a victim survivor of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence on her way to reach justice. The video can be used for any audience including those in the justice sector and the general public, as an informative resource to discuss the roadblocks, challenges and misconceptions a victim survivor of sex… Read more

 

“Violence Against Women is Not a Game” Campaign in Sri Lanka

September 30, 2021

Program Snapshot Post

The Asia Foundation, Sri Lanka ran a media campaign, Violence Against Women is Not A Game. These interactive public awareness posts highlight some key information on justice sector responses to cases of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) including domestic violence. The series of four adverts showcase a word search dealing with SGBV covered un… Read more

 

Inside Justice: Sharing The Asia Foundation’s Experience

September 29, 2021

Video

This video is a live recording of the Inside Justice project’s event to share its experiences among development practitioners.