33 Countries of Origin’ Profiles

SRI LANKA take place in private and public, and the measures taken to prevent and redress, remain insufficient. Gender based violence has always been prevalent in Sri Lanka. Although the lack of systematic data has prevented a full understanding of gender based violence, its prevalence and patterns, there are numerous specific writings as well as information from service providers that show a high prevalence and diverse forms of gender based violence faced by women (and children) in the country. Despite the limitations, reports show a consistent rise in the levels of violence against women in Sri Lanka; though it is unclear whether this is due to an increased awareness and reporting of incidents, or due to an increase in the number of incidents themselves. Gender based violence ranges from sexual harassment in public spaces to acts of violence within the privacy of the home or at workplaces. It is acknowledged that the issue of who or which group in society has more power than others and who can exert acts of gender based violence is not restricted to economic power but is very much rooted in notions of social power and hierarchies in access to exercising such power. As such, the concept of gender based violence necessarily includes two aspects - violence which arises out of asymmetrical power relations resulting from socialisation processes, as well as gender based discrimination arising from structural violence against women, as can be seen, for example through the impact of violence against women because of armed conflict 14 . 1 4 http://assets.wusc.ca/Website/Programs/WDP/backgroundPaper.pdf