The government has taken steps to introduce a toll-free women’s helpline in Sri Lanka where at least four rapes are reported daily.
The government has announced these steps to get rid of violence against women after the Minister in charge of the Police was ashamed as even an elderly mother could not walk on the road.
The inaugural program was held at the Sethsiripaya premises in Battaramulla under the patronage of Piyal Nishantha de Silva, State Minister of Women and Child Development, Pre-Schools and Primary Education, School Infrastructure and Education Services. Coinciding with this event, the Government has announced the launch of the National Database of the 1938 Free Women’s Helpline Service and the handing over of appointment letters to new members of the National Women’s Committee.
Kumari Jayasekara, Secretary to the State Ministry of Women and Child Development, Pre-Schools and Primary Education, School Infrastructure and Education Services, Senior DIG Ajith Rohana, Shiranthi Beatrice Dissanayake, Chairperson of the National Women’s Committee and other government officials were present at the occasion.
A few days before the introduction of the 1938 call service, the Minister in charge of the Police had said that “not even an old woman in our country can go on the road alone.” Although there have been a number of local and foreign reports of sexual abuse, including rape of women and men, which took place at the police station, the government has not announced the steps to be taken in this regard.
Last year, the country’s top police chief revealed that a child is abused every two hours in Sri Lanka and that at least four rapes take place a day. The DIG in charge of the Crime and Organized Crime Division, Priyantha Jayakody, had made the revelation in 2020, citing the 2019 crime statistics.
In a video released through the face book, the DIG had pointed out that 1642 of rape cases had been reported in the country in 2019. DIG Priyantha Jayakody had said that a woman is raped in Sri Lanka in every six hours.