Still a crime to be gay in Sri Lanka

Though new government offers some hope, say LGBT activists

By KAITLIN BARDSWICH on Tue, Oct 27, 2015

Im sorry Im a lesbian, a Sri Lankan woman says she told her mother,
after her sister outed her.
I was young. I would never say that now, says the woman, who
asked Daily Xtra for confidentiality to avoid the possible repercussions of
coming out publicly.
In the small island nation of Sri Lanka, life for LGBT people can be a

struggle. Like many other South Asian societies, Sri Lanka is very religious
and socially conservative. While there are organizations working to further
gay rights here, such as Equal Ground and Heart to Heart, those in the
community still regularly experience discrimination, ostracism and even
violence.
A remnant of British colonialism, sections 365 and 365a of the Sri Lankan
Penal Code criminalize homosexual acts using the terms carnal knowledge
against the order of nature (365) and gross indecency (365a). Its a
crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Initially interpreted as only prohibiting sexual acts between men, the
sections were broadened in 1995 in an ironic attempt to be more inclusive
and gender-neutral by criminalizing homosexual acts for both men and
women.
And yet, this is a country whose capital, Colombo, has hosted Pride
celebrations for the last 10 years, albeit without a parade.
Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, executive director of Equal Ground, the non-profit
working toward LGBT rights that also organizes Pride, says organizers skip
the parade to keep people safe.
Instead, she says, we hold different events such as fashion drag shows,
dramas, workshops, art and photo exhibitions, film festivals, parties and
rainbow kite festivals on the beach.
Over the years, Pride in Colombo has grown from a handful of people to up
to 2,000 people attending annually.

Strangely, no government has yet shut Pride down, Flamer-Caldera says.

This, I believe, is because we have a strategy to include foreign diplomats
and heterosexual allies in all our events, thus making it difficult for the
government to shut us down or cause disruption.
Still, its not easy to work on these issues in Sri Lanka, says Jude Fernando,
executive director of Heart to Heart, a community organization that
supports men who have sex with men, as well as trans women.
The main problem, he believes, is that people are afraid to come out
because of the Sri Lankan Penal Code, as well as societal reactions.
If anything happens, the Penal Code is there, Fernando says.
Though no one has been convicted under sections 365 or 365a since Sri
Lankan independence in 1948, the law still stands as a threat and is used
by both state and non-state actors to harass the LGBT community.
Community organizations that distribute condoms have allegedly had their
staff harassed by police for promoting homosexuality. Heart to Heart now
has an advocacy program with police, educating them about the prevention
of HIV/AIDS.
Equal Ground has been under state security surveillance, Flamer-Caldera
says.
Central Intelligence Services, the Criminal Investigation Department
actually, raided some of our partner organizations in rural areas. Weve had
our phones tapped and were followed . . . files were taken, she alleges.

Police are also accused of using an old British vagrancy ordinance to

prohibit loitering on the street, at an officers discretion. Some officers, its
alleged, are more likely to object to masculine-looking lesbians and trans
women found loitering in public spaces.
The degree of harassment may differ from urban to rural areas.
Kiru, who asked Daily Xtra to publish only her first name to protect her
safety, says she can live relatively openly in Colombo, but back in her home
village near Jaffna, she says she would be killed if she were open about her
sexuality.
But Flamer-Caldera says Equal Ground has found success hosting
workshops and even occasional Pride celebrations in rural parts of the
country. She says they explain LGBT issues in terms of human rights,
something rural communities may better relate to than Colombo urbanites.
Wherever they live, some LGBT Sri Lankans worry that coming out could
cost them their jobs.
Its really bad when it comes to work, with family, amongst friends,
everywhere. Its really difficult, says one woman who asked Daily Xtra not
to publish even her first name. Well known in her field of work, the woman
worries that if it were publicly known that she preferred women to men, she
would be out of a job.
But things are slowly changing for the better, many LGBT Sri Lankans
believe.
Like other communities in Sri Lanka, the LGBT community isnt sure what to

expect from the new government that came to power in January 2015 and
won a subsequent election in August 2015.
During the old government, we had a lot of issues, Flamer-Caldera says.
But the minute the new government has come on board, it has been as
though this huge weight has been lifted off of all of our shoulders. I think
every single citizen feels that. But for how long?
Others share her cautious optimism, though they remain wary.
One gay man living in Colombo sees gaining acceptance within Sri Lankan
society as the real key to making progress for the LGBT community there.
More than asking for rights for the LGBT community, we need social
acceptance, says Roshan, who asked Daily Xtra to publish only his first
name.
The community has to get stronger and more unified, Roshan says.
Everyone should come together and work together and then maybe we
will have acceptance.
Posted by Thavam