NewsTamil women who survived Sri Lanka's civil war now face widespread sexual exploitation by officals in their own community as well as from the army, the head of an ethnic reconciliation body said Wednesday. “There is a lot of sexual abuse still going on by officials, even Tamil officials and even at lower levels, the grama sevakas (village officials),” she told Sri Lanka's Foreign Correspondents' Association. “Even to sign a document, they abuse the women and of course some people in the (armed) forces” continue to commit sexual abuse, she said. Kumaratunga said many women had been traumatised as a result of the sexual abuse and needed psychological support but the authorities lacked qualified experts to treat them. At least 100,000 Sri Lankans lost their lives during the conflict that saw horrific abuses by both sides.

Source: Sunday Times February 15, 2017 12:51 UTC