As in many Southasian countries, sexual minorities in Sri Lanka grapple with a harsh and discriminatory law that proscribes "gross indecency", a term that is never actually defined. Up until 1995, this legislation applied to men only, but a movement to raise awareness on the need to reform the law led to it being made gender neutral. Now, women too come under the ambit of the law, and for the past 13 years, consensual sex between two women in private has been criminalised.
This type of discriminatory law was introduced in all the British colonies – save Hong Kong – and continued to remain in the statute books long after colonial rule ended. In Sri Lanka, this act has been in effect since 1883, having now enjoyed a life of 125 years. The original inspiration for this type of legislation, however, has long since dissipated. In 1967, England passed the Sexual Offences Act, which decriminalised consensual, private homosexual acts between people over the age of 21. In 2004, the United Kingdom even announced the passage of the Civil Partnership Act, and the first same-sex couple there was registered in November 2005. Though same-sex partners in the UK cannot opt to have their registration ceremony in places reserved for religious rituals, those registered under this act can now enjoy rights similar to those of heterosexual married couples. Beginning with inheritance tax, social security and pension benefits, a same-sex partner in the UK is now also able to enjoy full parental responsibility of their current partner's children, as well as responsibility for reasonable maintenance of one's partner and their children. A partner is entitled to full tenancy rights, life-insurance recognition, and will be recognised as next of kin in hospitals. There is even provision for the dissolving of such a union through a process similar to divorce.
Why is it that Sri Lanka, along with much of the rest of Southasia, is still forced to conform to a law bestowed by England, when the English themselves have done away with the very same law, one that legitimises violence against members of sexual minorities? A local Sri Lankan group, named Companions on a Journey, has claimed that when it was first set up in 1995, its members were subject to ridicule, with some even being stoned and many receiving death threats.
In addition to being subject to sexual violence, the general stigma associated with being lesbian and gay in Sri Lanka often leads members of sexual minorities to emotional and mental trauma. Back in July 1999, the Women's Support Group, an organisation that works in the field of queer rights, announced its intention of holding a conference for lesbians, and was soon met with fierce public opposition. One of these protests came in the form of a letter to the editor of a local newspaper, which went so far as to advocate the rape of women attending the conference by a team of convicted rapists. The filing of a complaint against the newspaper instead led to the Press Council of Sri Lanka condemning lesbianism as "sadistic and salacious". Attitudes towards sexual minorities have not changed much since then.