Will Sri Lanka decriminalize homosexuality?
Sri Lanka ‘s president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, said he and his party will green-light a privately presented bill to decriminalize homosexuality. The bill, presented by MP Premnath C. Dolawatte, seeks to officially decriminalize same-sex activity between consenting adults, effectively amending sections 365 and 365A of Sri Lanka’s penal code.
The president announcing that his party will not oppose the bill does not automatically mean that the decriminalization will be put into practice. For this to occur, it will require support from individual members of parliament, and considering Sri Lanka’s exceptionally homophobic views and practices, even recently, this is not a sure fire thing.
President Wickremesinghe told the Colombo Gazette that,“we are for it, but you have to get the support of individual members. It’s a matter of their private conscience.”
Despite this move, which may appear as a progressive step forward on behalf of the country’s leader, Sri Lanka has come under fire recently for its homophobic and discriminatory practices with regard to the LGBTQ community.
According to the Human Rights Watch, Rosanna Flamer-Caldera – an LGBTQ rights activist – brought forth legal proceedings after she faced harassment and discrimination because of her sexual orientation.
The Sri Lankan government has also been accused of performing abusive and invasive anal and vaginal tests for the purpose of proving that homosexual conduct had taken place. This practice seems almost impossible to prove via this method, but in recent times, 7 documented cases of these examinations have occurred. It is unclear how many undocumented cases exist.
Many countries who prohibit homosexuality around the world target gay men only. However, since 1986 at least ten countries have explicitly enacted laws that criminalize homosexual acts between women as well. Sri Lanka is one of them.
Watch this space as news surrounding this important development for Sri Lankan LGBTQ folks unfolds.
