A report by Human Rights Watch and EQUAL GROUND revealed that people suspected of “homosexual conduct” in Sri Lanka are being subjected by authorities to physical torture and forced physical examinations.
That was according to a lawyer who represented six defendants last year accused of such “male homosexual conduct.”
The lawyer told Human Rights Watch and EQUAL GROUND that six victims underwent anal examinations to find “evidence of anal penetration.” A transgender man, on the other hand, was forced by police in 2019 to undergo a “virginity test”. The test, carried out by a judicial medical officer, involved inserting two fingers into the man's vagina.
And not only were the accused whipped with wires, they were also subjected to HIV tests without their consent – the results, says the source, were “disclosed in court”.
Human Rights Watch and EQUAL GROUND have called for an end to the practice, describing it as a “form of sexual violence, as well as cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment that can lead to torture”.
Neela Ghoshal, associate director for LGBT rights at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement:
“No one should be imprisoned, much less subjected to torture and sexual violence, because of their perceived sexual orientation.” She added: “The Sri Lankan Ministry of Justice must immediately ban judicial medical officers from conducting forced anal examinations, which flagrantly violate medical ethics as well as basic rights.”
The report further revealed that this is not the first time that LGBT people in Sri Lanka have suffered violence at the hands of their arresting officers. Sixteen of the 61 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people interviewed by Human Rights Watch for its report in 2016 had experienced “physical or sexual assault, including rape, by police.”
why does #SriLanka claim it opposes discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, then turn around and prosecute people for same-sex relations using appalling #ForcedAnalExams? https://t.co/exkAAuj0L5
— Neela Ghoshal (@NeelaGhoshal) October 20, 2020
In Sri Lanka, homosexual relations between consenting adults are illegal and carry a minimum prison sentence of 10 years (maximum 20 years) with a fine plus compensation to “whoever the crime was committed for injuries caused to that person”. You can read the full Human Rights Watch and EQUAL GROUND report here.
The country uses sections 365 and 365A of its current Penal Code to criminalize gay sex. Supposedly enacted in 1886, sections 365 and 365A were “relics of the colonial government”, prohibiting “sexual intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal”. Read more about this law in Sri Lanka here.
